The Slave of Sound
by Ren421
Summary: Angst, mature themes, distressing situations, deepening yaoi. You have been warned. Sound has risen once more, under the auspices of the traitor Sasuke Uchiha but what of Naruto Uzumaki, stolen away by the one he called his friend so many years ago?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Slave of Sound

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Rating:** NC-17

**Pairing:** SasuNaru

**Warnings:** Yaoi, non con, angst

**Note: **AU

**Summary:** Sound has risen once more, under the auspices of the traitor Sasuke Uchiha; but what of Naruto Uzumaki, stolen away by the one he called his friend so many years ago?

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 1

It was strange, this mission, this journey. Strange and repellant.

They were ninja, not emissaries, for crying out loud. Yet, here they were, several of the Rookie Nine, or what was left of them, anyway, marching down the wide avenue, freshly paved, that led to the accursed lands of Sound.

The great war with Sound was over, and had been for almost seven years. Sound was defeated, soundly to make a very bad pun. Orochimaru was defeated, Itachi, there for his own despicable reasons, had been slain by Sasuke, with Naruto as back up. And for a brief moment, there was a cautious joy. Sasuke Uchiha's greatest quest had been accomplished; his brother was dead, the clan avenged. Now all the remained was for Sasuke to come home and finish the rest; repopulate the Uchiha compound with lots of little Uchihas.

That's what everyone thought, anyway, after the final battle, when Naruto and Sasuke stood so close together, panting softly with their exertions, covered in wounds and dripping blood, heads almost touching as Naruto earnestly coaxed Sasuke to come home. Come home!

Even from so far away, the others, likewise hurt and spent, could hear the gently beseeching tones from the blonde. Come home, Sasuke. Konoha waits for its prodigy, its heir. Come home. Come home, and be welcomed.

There was a tense moment of pleasant expectation, and then Sasuke's face changed. The blank, almost empty look in his eyes fixated upon the wounded blond so close by. A feral look washed over that pallid face, and with a quick movement, a blinding flash, both boys were gone. Leaving nothing but curling wisps of gray smoke.

For over six years, nothing had been heard, from Sasuke, from Naruto, from Sound. Then, eleven months ago, once more the nation of Sound exploded upon the consciousness of the Ninja lands. Slightly removed from its original site, and deep underground, the new Otokage had flourished in secret, gaining allies, amassing another army, creating a network of trade, finance and espionage.

This new Sound was far more terrifying than when under Orochimaru's rule. Then it had been about assassination, warmongering, a search for immortality. Such evil was easy to spot, both near and far, and sane folk knew to avoid it like the plague.

But the Uchiha, as the Otokage was colloquially known, was a far different leader. Instead of threats and rumors of war, he used… money. Not until shortly after Naruto's abduction, did they realize that at some point between Sasuke's original defection, and this latest, that the Uchiha finances were utterly depleted. Many thought it has simply run dry after Sasuke's father died, but the council, and others close to the Hokage knew otherwise. Somehow, someone, likely Sasuke, had slipped into Konoha's banks, and emptied all the accounts. What had been a vast fortune had been plundered in a blink of an eye, and it had taken months for anyone to notice.

Now Sound emerged as a land of great finance, fabulous exports, skilled warriors for hire. The Otokage had secretly built up his kingdom, managing by lending financial aid to less affluent realms, introducing highly intoxicating new markets of trade and service to others, and ensnared the other lands, leaving Konoha and Suna in the dark until it was too late.

What had masqueraded at diverse branches of caravans and roving bands of mercenaries, the Uchiha had kept his growing land a closely held secret. And when he had so many of the other kages and lords under his thumb by dint of massive debt and demands for merchandise, he boldly stepped forward, revealed himself and his nation, and forced the Ninja councils to accept and acknowledge his rule. Sound was now as real as a heart attack, and just as silently deadly.

Konoha and Suna had been the last holdouts. Konoha could not forgive the war, and especially Naruto's abduction. The Hokage literally foamed at the mouth before the grand council, as did Gaara, who remained Kazekage after losing his demon. They refused to submit to the new Otokage's demands. Tsunade had to be restrained from attacking the Uchiha, screaming demands that Naruto be returned. Gaara was more restrained, but his darkly lined green eyes glared death at the cool and unperturbed black eyes of the Uchiha.

Though the other Ninja nations were loathe to acclaim the traitorous upstart, chafing at the yoke of debt and supply and demand around their necks, they couldn't deny that under Sasuke Uchiha rule, Sound had given them the means to increase their coffers, upgrade their lifestyles. And the Uchiha's willingness to burn up considerable IOU's in return for recognition and acknowledgement, made them, one by one, accede to his demands. After all, all Sound wanted was to be included in the council of nations. And eventually, even Konoha and Suna were forced to bend the knee.

Thus Sound, and Sasuke Uchiha, thrived. And still no news of Naruto.

Hence, Neji Hyuuga was leading a small but deadly contingent of 'emissaries' to Sound, forced to meet the loathed Uchiha in negotiations of trade and commerce, lest Konoha be left behind in this glorious new economic era. They trod the new road there, backs ramrod straight and faces closed to all and sundry. It was a personal defeat, Sasuke's success, to many of them.

Even Sakura Haruno, the last holdout against the Uchiha, had turned away from her childish crush. She'd loved him so much, but in the years of his defection, Naruto had been her biggest supporter, with his promises, and his new strength of body and mind, and she had come to love him like a brother. Surely, in six years, Naruto would have come home, if he was able; contacted them in the months since Sound rose with such dizzying speed. But not a peep. Not from the Uchiha, despite Konoha and Suna's demands, not from the many suave and sly agents, not from the many merchants and soldiers that flooded the markets. Not. One. Word.

Naruto Uzumaki's name had been inscribed on the Memorial Stone. The council of Konoha had been eager to deem him dead, even if many of those in power demanded otherwise. But those that loved Naruto had their way; if he had to be listed as dead, he would be so in honor, as a hero.

As soon as they crossed the border into Sound, the fields were rich and lush and well tended. The people in the little towns were smug and content, and there were Uchihan soldiers everywhere. Despite the Uchiha's sweet words of a new peaceful and golden era, Sasuke was no fool. He protected what was his with a ferocious will. The inn Neji and his band stayed overnight in were luxurious and well staffed, and obviously the owners were under orders to treat the Konohan delegates like royalty. Nothing was too good for them. They stayed in their room obstinately, and refused most of the goods and services rendered them.

Then came Otokagure. The capital of Sound. In the few months since Sound's announcement, a pristine and lovely city rose over the deep subterranean world below it. White walls and pearlescent spires rose over the newly tilled fields and prosperous towns within its protective arms. It was too complete, too well crafted to have been thrown up so quickly. Obviously Sound had been right under their noses all along, hidden by chakra. The Konohans paused as soon as the capital came into view; they cursed its deceptive beauty, its treacherous prosperity. They hated having to be here, hands outstretched in peace, instead of gripping weapons of war, demanding the return of their kinsman. They hated this, each and every one of them. And how they hated Sasuke Uchiha.

But they had yet to taste true hatred for the man and his lands.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** The Slave of Sound

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Rating:** NC-17

**Pairing:** SasuNaru

**Warnings:** Yaoi, non con, angst

**Note: **AU

**Summary:** Sound has risen once more, under the auspices of the traitor Sasuke Uchiha; but what of Naruto Uzumaki, stolen away by the one he called his friend so many years ago?

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 2

The great doors of the palace were massive; heavily engraved oak, bound with brass and taller than most houses. The guards saluted the Konohans as they marched up to it, heads held high, eyes brilliant and cold. Neji and the others were just as bright, and even more remote. The time was at hand. They would see Sasuke Uchiha this very day, and come hell or high water, they would learn the fate of Naruto Uzumaki.

Those titanic doors, so ostentatious to their eyes, swung open smoothly, without scrape or squeak. And who should meet them at the entrance but that loathsome creature, Kabuto. He was all smiles, dressed in rich Sound livery, his silver hair tied neatly back, longer than of yore, but his glasses as reflective as ever.

"Welcome, welcome!" Kabuto caroled warmly, all smiles and smarmy bows. "Welcome to Otokagure and the great land of Sound! Come, and be welcome."

Neji wanted to retch. Sakura stared at him with loathing, Shikamaru hid his disgust under a veneer of boredom. Konohamaru couldn't hide his anger and was incapable of responding with anything remotely resembling civility. Thus it fell to Kakashi to step forward, his own feelings hidden tightly under a civil mask, to step forward, and return a very shallow bow. They were forced to be here, and they would acquit themselves with dignity and courtesy, but they would not respond with any forced gaiety.

"Thank you," Kakashi responded with soft coldness.

"You must be exhausted after such a quick and arduous journey. Why, it's only yesterday morning that we knew of your departure from sunny Konoha. Come, follow me to your rooms, so that you may refresh yourselves."

One would think that Kabuto would seethe at having to display such gushing welcome, but, truth be told, he was filled with vast joy and amusement. Ah, those proud Konoha ninjas; forced to bend the knee and come to Sound against their will. Forced to extend olive branches of goodwill, when they all wanted to rip, rend, shred, avenge their fallen comrade. Sound's spy network was as extensive as its trade routes, and even more complex. Oh, just wait! He barely restrained himself from rubbing his hands together in glee.

With a peremptory snap of his fingers, richly ornamented and perfumed slaves leapt forward to relieve the visitors of their burdens and lead them to the most opulent quarters ever seen. Sound had spared no expense to show lavish accommodations to their unwilling guests; rub their noses in it, most likely.

The visitors surrendered their packs silently, save for Konohamaru, whose hate filled soul had trouble relinquishing anything to these villains. But at a glare from Neji and Kakashi, the boy subsided, blinking away tears. His eyes searched wildly. Where was Naruto? But it was all in vain.

"Thank you," Neji smoothly resumed command, once more in possession of his usual aplomb. He was the leader of this expedition, an Anbu in his own right. Usual protocol demanded he respond with well wishes, and these he gave through almost clenched teeth. Neji may hate every moment of this, but not only was he an Anbu captain, and a trained negotiator, he was also a Hyuuga and drilled to this sort of thing from the cradle. No matter what his personal or even national feelings on this visit, he would behave as behooved a Konohan delegate and Hyuuga prince.

For prince, Neji Hyuuga was. Hinata had stepped down from the line of succession, and married Gaara Sabaku, to strengthen ties between Konoha and Suna in these new times of Sound supremacy. Both nations would need all the goodwill between them they could get, as the last holdouts against treachery. Neji himself was betrothed to Hanabi, his cousin, bringing him to the seat of Hyuuga power, where his uncle now wanted him to be. There was no love between either match, but Neji would treat his child bride with the respect due the crown princess of Hyuuga, and there was a deep respect between Hinata and her husband, Gaara; born of their grief and love for Naruto Uzumaki.

The delegation from Suna was already here, having arrived an hour before. Hinata and Gaara were both in Sound now. Gaara, unable to bring himself as the leader of Sand to extend gracious goodwill to that traitor Sasuke, whom he'd always despised, and now loathed with every fiber of his being for Naruto's disappearance and supposed death, had stepped down as Kazekage; Temari now held that office, and did what Gaara could not. She had not been sanguine about allowing her youngest brother to attend the peace talks in Sound, worrying that the young man's hatred would lead to war, but Gaara had promised her that he would behave with the utmost propriety. And besides, he would never bring Hinata into more danger than she already was in, here in the lands of Sound. But Gaara would not take no for an answer. He would go to Sound, and he would find out Naruto's fate. If it was the last thing he did. He owed it to the only person he had ever loved unreservedly, and who had saved him time and again. Naruto deserved no less.

Once in their rooms, they kept up a steady stream of inconsequential chatter. None of them, even Konohamaru, forgot the edict both Neji and Kakashi had drilled into them with every step of their journey.

Every wall has eyes, every corner has ears, every person is an enemy. Say nothing, do nothing. Keep your secrets close.

For this particular delegation had a secret agenda all their own. Yea, even Kakashi. Unbeknownst to everyone in the Ninja lands, everyone in Konoha save the two remaining Legendary Sannin and a select few, they had an ulterior motive. Find Naruto Uzumaki, if he is alive, and bring him home. Avenge his murder if not. By whatever means necessary. Konoha had survived one war with Sound. She could do it again, if need be. Their Hokage had given them this special S-class mission herself, burgundy eyes cold and dead. If and when the council ever found out, she would lose her job, but she didn't care. None of them involved did. Naruto must come home; alive preferably, but to an honorable burial if not. The Light of Konoha must come home.

……………………………………

Two hours after their arrival, Neji and the others found themselves escorted to the great dining hall, where a feast had been prepared for the delegations of the last two holdouts of Konoha and Suna. Neji found himself with a surprising armful of his cousin, Hinata greeting him and her ex kinsmen with effusive joy. She'd not seen them since her wedding and relocation months ago. Gaara was far more restrained, giving Neji, whom he'd found a distant accord with, a civil nod of greeting. Kankuro, behind them, was more outgoing in his greetings than his younger brother.

Gaara had to turn away, the sight of the leaf headbands almost more than he could bear. Even after seven years, his heart ached and burned for Naruto. He had to fight down the blood thirsty urge to slay everything in Sound livery that he could see. Control. Control.

Hinata touched his hand in commiseration, light and cool. Her white eyes filled with her own anguish. They both loved Naruto above all others, and found comfort in each other's presence, in their shared loss and grief. When they came together in the marriage bed, when they found the relief they sought, there was one name they cried out in their pleasure. And it was neither of theirs. Afterwards, they would lay together quietly, and whisper softly of a love lost before ever being claimed, and found surcease for their aching hearts. And with every passionate cry of Naruto's name, and every stricken whisper, a soft and strange love for each other grew between them, and Gaara knew he would protect his diminuative but fervent wife with his own life, if need be, as Hinata would his.

They filed into the dining hall together, escorted by a bevy of silken skinned slaves, everywhere in Sound. The ubiquitous presences were barely clothed, reeking of sensuality and willing servitude. Already each delegate had quietly rebuffed each and every sexual overture offered them; obviously the slaves of Sound were more than utilitarian. Those golden collared men and women, some barely out of childhood, seemed to revel in their enslavement, finding a strange joy in offering all that they were.

Both Gaara and Konohamaru gave soft growls as they took their seats of honor at the high table. The delegates had a perfumed slave standing ready behind each of them, assigned to refill platters and goblets, blot brows, and whisper soft words of pleasure in their ears. Konohamaru found himself red faced and tongue-tied at the overt caresses and lisping offers whispered in his ear by a girl slave younger than himself. The others were savvy enough to ignore or gently rebuff unwanted advances and services.

On the dias before them was a long table, filled with Sound nobility, each with their own attendant slave. But what drew every eye was the man seated in the middle of the table in a throne like chair. His black eyes filled with cool amusement, every dark hair in elegant place. The Otokage. He had no slave attending him, and beside him was a smaller, but no less ornate chair. The Consort's throne, obviously. But it sat empty and forlorn. If the Uchiha had chosen a bride of his own, she was not in evidence, and it was strange that the chair sat empty there in that place of honor. Until a consort was chosen, no chair was provided. Despite themselves, all of the delegates felt curious to know whom Sasuke had chosen to share his bed and realm with. Sakura, despite her newfound dislike of the man before her now, felt a twinge of faint envy; a holdover from younger days. She quickly squashed it. She would rather die now, than share the life of the man she once loved so much. The man that betrayed everything she held dear; her home, her land, her friend.

As soon as everyone was seated, and quiet reigned once more, the Uchiha stood up, lifting a golden goblet that glimmered in the candle light.

"Welcome to Sound, Konoha, Suna," His sensual voice, richer now than in bygone years, rang out in triumph as he toasted each nation. "May this be the auspicious beginning of a new and glorious alliance. I welcome each and every one of you here, and bid you to eat and drink and be merry. Welcome."

There was a frozen silence from the delegates, as Sasuke stood tall before them, eyes unblinking, smile unbreaking, pride radiating from every inch of the tall, lithe body. He stared them down until there was a scramble to pick up their own glasses, and a weak chorus of response as they each sipped what tasted like ashes on their tongues.

"Goddamn fucker's become quite the chatterbox since our genin days, eh, Shikamaru?" Kiba whispered softly to his dinner partner. Shika said nothing, but set his goblet down quickly as soon as was decently possible.

"Let the feast begin," Sasuke intoned happily, gesturing to the slaves everywhere.

As if by magic, silver domed and steaming platters were placed before each of them, edifices of fruits and tidbits spaced about for easy access, goblets refilled, water glasses appeared, finger bowls glinting in the flickering light. And for a moment, each of them were reluctantly impressed. It was done with the grace of an elegant dance, not a plate out of its proper place, not a piece of stemware or silver ware out of alignment, not a jingle of metal, or drop of liquid spilled. Reluctantly impressed until a gold haired slave had appeared behind the Uchiha upon the commencement of the feast, slender and graceful as a willow in a gentle spring breeze.

In the panoply of perfumed flesh, silken hair, glittering and scanty attire, at first the young man did not seem out of place, even if that golden mop of hair made their hearts throb in memory of their lost comrade. He laid the Uchiha's plate before that man with the skill and dexterity the others displayed, golden collar winking in the candle light, and even held the goblet to his master's lips. In a roomful of important people, nobles and delegates alike, they were paired with a slave of the opposite gender. But the Uchiha had a male slave. Moreover, one chained to the table before the Otokage.

Kiba couldn't resist another caustic whisper to his companion. "Always knew the Uchiha was a fag," he smirked quietly. "No one as good looking as he is would be so cold to the ladies. I knew it, I tell you. Guess that's why the consort's chair is empty. What woman would put up with something like that?"

"Don't be a fool and shut your mouth, Inuzuka," Neji whispered harshly. "A seat of such power would not be empty for such a vapid reason. The Lady of Sound wouldn't let a little thing like homosexual slave abuse get in her way. Now shut up before you disgrace us all."

Kiba sullenly returned to his meal, watching idly as the Uchiha's slave, something so teasingly familiar about him, revealed the succulent meats on the platter and set aside the glinting dome.

Then, to the delegates shock, and not the nobles, the collared and barely clad slave slid into the consort's chair with long practiced grace, and proceeded to feed his master with graceful hands. The young man had yet to lift his glorious golden head.

For a moment, the only sound in the hall was the soft talk amongst the nobles and the clinking of their utensils. The delegates were momentarily frozen. A slave? In the dinner throne of the High Consort of Sound? Unthinkable! And in that timeless moment of near silent shock, the soft words of the Otokage sounded clearly in the hall as Sasuke gently tugged on the glinting chain that began at the golden collar of the slave and ended in a crystalline ring on the table before the Uchiha.

"Open your mouth, my beautiful Kitsune. I know you are hungry as well." The tugging gently rocked that golden mass of hair, and finally, the slave lifted his head, glimmering pink lips opening obediently for the piece of meat upon his master's fork. There was a moment of chewing, a soft swallow. "Yes, sweet dobe, like that." And the Otokage's head dipped to kiss that glistening mouth; wet, deep, and carnal. And the slave's newly revealed face was momentarily obscured by that head of dark hair.

But not before everyone saw large eyes, outlined in kohl, a vibrant cerulean, as deep as the ocean, and as remote. Not before they saw the six whisker like marks gracing lightly tanned cheeks, in that perfect face. Not before they realized why that shock of golden hair had given them each a poignant throb in their hearts even as they dismissed the gracile, delicate creature before them.

Sakura gave a soft helpless cry of anguish.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Slave of Sound

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Rating:** NC-17

**Pairing:** SasuNaru

**Warnings:** Yaoi, non con, angst

**Note: **AU

**Summary:** Sound has risen once more, under the auspices of the traitor Sasuke Uchiha; but what of Naruto Uzumaki, stolen away by the one he called his friend so many years ago?

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 3

"Naruto!"

Despite why they were there, namely to pursue peace talks between the lands of Konoha, Suna, and Sound, Sakura leapt to her feet after her strangled cry. "God, Naruto!" And a moment later, she began to weep, her eyes moving in incomprehension and confusion to stare at Sasuke. This man, once so beloved to her, had taken the man she looked at with the love of a sibling, and perverted him into a sexual slave on display for all. Degraded that bright and noble spirit with chains of servitude and humiliation. Forced that gentle and devoted heart to play the whore before those he once called friend.

To a man, the rest of the Konohan delegation, as well as Hinata, and Gaara and Kankuro, likewise jumped up, eyes blazing with wrath. Konohamaru was shuddering with the effort to hold back outraged screams and sobs of anguish.

Ignoring them, Sasuke slowly sat back, a glimmering strand of saliva still connecting his lips to Naruto's, at least until the Uchiha leaned forward slightly, and licked those now kiss swollen lips. He turned and eased back in his chair with a smug smirk for the angry men and women before him.

"Beautiful, isn't he?" The Otokage grinned in triumph, reaching out to caress his slave's face softly. Naruto simply sat there, umoving, save for a quick lick of his own lips after the Uchiha's hard and passionate kiss. His face never lost its placid expression, his clear, yet achingly empty blue eyes never flickered in recognition of his long lost kinsmen, nor the overt sexual act applied to his pliant mouth.

"And so skillful, in and out of bed." Sasuke went on with a cold and icy smile. "I usually don't like to share; those that touch what is mine die painful deaths. But I might be persuaded just this one time… for you, Gaara of the Sand, and your lovely wife, Hinata."

"Bastard!" Gaara growled, shaking in rage at this display. Hinata's hand was on her husband's arm, white to the knuckles.

"After all," the Uchiha went on, as if oblivious to the palpable waves of murderous rage flowing towards him, "it's his name you both cry out, together, when you make love in your big and lonely bed. Isn't it?"

Hinata gave a wounded cry, eyes spilling over with tears of grief and remorse, unable to look away from the still and silent form of the only person she had loved until she found this strange peace in shared but thwarted love with an ex homicidal killer. Gaara held both her hands in his, grip almost brutally tight as they held hands to keep themselves from tearing apart the smirking lord before them.

"Think of it, Sandman," Sasuke went on with his cruel taunting as he softly jerked Naruto up by the chain still in his hand, forcing the blond to his feet, then onto the table before him, bare feet finding easy repose between plates and glasses and silver. He dropped Naruto's chain, and began to run his hands slowly up the younger man's bare legs. "This soft as silk skin under your hands."

Those evil hands bypassed the barely there skirt of Naruto's slave garb, giving a glancing caress to the evident masculinity below it, unaroused but easily discerned, before sliding both hands over a taut belly that quivered slightly. "Imagine this tight and lithe body between you both as you lay in bed together tonight." A quick tweak of a pale pink nipple, pierced with tiny golden hoops, and Naruto's face never changed.

"Imagine that, lovely Hinata. Laying in that big bed, as the man you really love shoves his hard cock between your pale and beautiful thighs, thrusting deep and hard as your scream the correct name of your lover for a change." One hand darted down to whip up that gossamer skirt, revealing a well formed penis, laying snug and warm in the cradle of Naruto's slim upper thighs. That hand gently encircled the organ, pumping firmly as it began to stir to life under that skillful caress.

"And knowing with every forceful thrust into your body, your husband, just as lovestruck as your are, has his cock shoved right up this god lovely creature's ass." Sasuke dipped his head to give a quick, light lick to the tip of the blonde's erection. Naruto gave an almost imperceptive shiver.

Hinata shattered emotionally, bursting into noisy sobs and burying her face in Gaara's chest. Those pale arms encircled her tightly and protectively, the only thing holding the ex kazekage back from leaping over both tables and slitting the Uchiha's throat.

"No? Pity." With a cruel laugh, Sasuke picked up Naruto as if the blond were really his bride and not his sexual slave and eased him off the table and back into the consort's chair. "Just well, as Uzumaki is mine. And I allow no one to touch my Kitsune." Another deep kiss, and the Otokage sat back and motioned for his slave to resume feeding his master.

And Naruto obeyed with the same grace and dexterity he had displayed before.

And it was horrifying to watch; the once exuberant and noisy blonde boy of long ago reduced to a mere shell of his former self. Tight and strong muscles reduced to slender and graceful limbs by years of pampered and demeaning slavery, deeply tanned flesh turned the color of old ivory by an obvious lack of sunshine. That once unruly hair tamed into a gorgeous and elegant coiffure of artful disarray, locks hanging on each side of his beautiful and impassive face, once filled with lively emotion. Deep sapphire eyes, as striking now as ever, but their vibrant life reduced to the glittering gleam of a cold and empty gemstone.

The Naruto Uzumaki they had known and loved, was no more. Instead, there was this sultry, emotionless creature in his place.

A choked sob of rage exploded from the youngest of them. Konohamaru could bear no more.

"You bastard!" The boy screamed, and with an experienced flick of his hands, for the boy was now a full chuunin, a kunai flew through the air on an unerring path towards the vile Otokage's throat. "Damn you to the deepest pits of hell, Uchiha!"

Even as Sound soldiers poured into the room, Sasuke sat unmoving, his smirk never slipping once, as Naruto leapt out of his chair and flung himself before his master, slender body between Sasuke and danger, arms crossed to ward off the sharp poisoned blade. The kunai glanced with a loud ping off the slave's golden armbands, falling to the table with a dull clatter lost in the crisp footsteps and unsheathing of weaponry.

For a moment, tension reigned, and even the jaded nobles were shocked into silence by this display of willful violence. The delegates seethed, staring down the multitude of Sound Ninja now in the room, weapons at the ready.

Neji's nostrils flared. "Stand down," he ordered his men through clenched teeth. "Stand down."

It took a moment, but resistant flesh finally obeyed, and the delegates sank back into their chairs. Konohamaru was unceremoniously shoved into his by Kakashi's hard grip, and Kankuro jerked Gaara and Hinata into one seat, where the Sandnin held his weeping wife on his lap, and comforted her as best as he could.

Once order was restored, Sasuke gave a flick of his fingers, and the soldiers vanished once more, like water seeping through stones. Then he shoved Naruto rudely into the consort's chair and stood up. Naruto fell back and then assembled himself gracefully where he'd fallen, waiting his next order placidly.

"I will make allowances," Sasuke ground out between clenched teeth, "because of that brat's youth and past attachment to my dobe. But if he steps out of line once more, I will have him executed for attempted assassination and it will not go well with Konoha." He drew himself up haughtily. "But make no mistake. Naruto Uzumaki is mine. And I will never let him go. Deal with it." And with an angry huff he turned away, disconnected Naruto's chain from the crystal ring, and jerked the chain hard.

Naruto, obviously used to such treatment, was up and following his master before he was jerked to his feet. They departed the dining hall in a miasma of Uchihan irritation.

Sakura was crying so hard she couldn't see. And no one could eat or drink any more. They slowly got to their feet and left as well, leaving platters of food barely touched. Grief stricken and silently enraged, they made their way back to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** The Slave of Sound

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Rating:** NC-17

**Pairing:** SasuNaru

**Warnings:** Yaoi, non con, angst

**Note: **AU

**Summary:** Sound has risen once more, under the auspices of the traitor Sasuke Uchiha; but what of Naruto Uzumaki, stolen away by the one he called his friend so many years ago?

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 4

If Naruto were a less obedient or watchful slave, he would have ended up being dragged all the way to the Uchiha's personal quarters. As it was, he had to be quick on his feet to keep up the perfect distance behind his master; not too close lest he enrage his already very angry owner, or not too far, lest he find the collar's choke hold around his throat too tight to breathe. Over the years Naruto had perfected his sensual subservience to the man he'd once loved so much in their shared boyhood, and now obeyed without question or emotion.

His pale hand gripping the golden chain as if throttling a neck, the Uchiha strode to his quarters with furious single mindedness. Though he had expected no less from the delegates from his erstwhile homeland, he was still enraged that one of them had dared attempt to strike out at him. Konohamaru. The Otokage snorted in disgust. What government in their right mind sent a child to such a sensitive meeting as this one, much less an obviously willful and undisciplined brat that looked up to Naruto Uzumaki as the Third's grandson did? That hag Tsunade was obviously slipping into her dotage. Perhaps the time had come to supplant the Fifth Hokage and replace her with one of his spies. He had so many in both Suna and Konoha.

They had arrived, the personal guards always on duty outside the Otokage's chambers yanking the doors open to admit their lord and his slave/concubine/consort. Once safely inside, the doors shut and locked behind them, Sasuke threw down the chain with an oath of anger. He paced the large and opulent sitting room, while Naruto retrieved his own chain and simply stood there, holding it, waiting any possible command.

When the Uchiha's wrath had finally cooled to a constant simmer, he stopped and glared at his slave. "So," he snarled. "What do you think, dobe? All your friends, so angry on your behalf. You must be thrilled." Bitterness lay on his tongue like ashes.

Naruto merely dipped his head slightly. "They are from my past, Master, and have no place in my present." Was all the younger man would say. The only thing he could safely say.

A sharklike grin graced his master's handsome visage. "Correct, my Kitsune. They are from your past and will not be a part of your present, or your future."

Naruto never thought about the future anymore, and rarely about his past. He lived almost completely in the now, with little regard to other timeframes. It was impossible to live in the past, or his rage and independence would rear its head, and he would experience unimaginable pain once more. After all these years with Sasuke, he'd learned his lessons well. He never thought about the future, lest despair overwhelm him again as it had early on in his captivity. No, he simply existed in the present, watchful and wary, conforming himself into the perfect slave. It was the only way he could tolerate the life he now had lived for almost seven years. There was no more hope burgeoning in his breast, no more dreams in his mind. He only wished to live with as little pain and degradation as possible. It was the only way he could survive what his life had become.

Normally Naruto's serenity did not arouse Sasuke's ire, but for some reason, with their ex kinsmen in residence in the palace, Naruto's placid demeanor irritated Sasuke. He wanted some sort of reaction from his slave. He'd expected some reaction to his friends' presence, especially during his humiliation. But there had been nothing; no flicker of recognition, no indications that he felt anything for the delegates from Konoha at all. In fact, the only minor betrayal his body had committed was his tiny tremor when his master had licked the tip of his cock, and that was not unusual at all. Naruto always reacted to his master's intimate touch, no matter where or when or what company. However, those reactions were not the ones the Uchiha sought in his ex best friend now. Not for the first time, did Sasuke feel a vague dissatisfaction with how thoroughly he'd broken Naruto's spirit.

"Ever the perfect slave, eh, Uzumaki?" Sasuke snapped, feeling pushed to his limit. He strode forward, grabbed Naruto's chain from his hands, and pulled the blond towards him. "Just how perfect are you, really?" He said more softly now, an evil smirk lighting his pale face. "Just how willing are you to please me, dobe? Will you… kill your friends? Hmmm? If I command you to kill one of them, will you do it?"

Naruto, never one to let anything Sasuke did slip past his notice, stepped forward before the chain could jerk him, and let Sasuke lead him against the Otokage's hard, lean, and strong body. "It is not in my power to kill a ninja of Konoha, Master," was all Naruto said, his face as emotionless as ever.

And it was true. While Sasuke continued to strengthen his body with vigorous exercise and training, and his mind with books and intrigues, he allowed no such outlets for Naruto. After more than six years, all the Kyuubi holder's strong muscles and lean body had melted away into a sensual lissome and curvaceous form. Books, puzzles, sundry entertainments, other than the rare forays with his master to the theater or outings, were not allowed for some slaves, and most especially not for Naruto. The once active and vivid boy had been forced to turn inwards for his own entertainment, finally settling on watching the world pass him by, with gentle regret that faded away into vague amusement at the antics of humanity. He didn't even have the Ninetail's evil mutterings or perverted notions to entertain himself. Before he'd awoken from his abduction so long ago, he'd already been fitted with a chakra absorbing collar that not only completely curtailed all flows save those to keep him alive and healthy, it had completely cordoned off Kyuubi's consciousness from his own. Naruto was alone in his own mind for the first time in his life. And discovered how lonely it could be.

"Oh, please," Sasuke laughed derisively. "Any one of them would let you get close enough to slit their throat in a heart beat. Especially Gaara. He'd let you cut his throat from ear to ear, he'd be so eager to get close to you."

"Yes, Master," Naruto said softly. "Forgive me. I would obey your command. I would kill the one who once was my friend."

Sasuke searched Naruto's face keenly, looking for something, anything in those empty blue eyes. But there was nothing. Merely acceptance of anything Sasuke said or did. To the Uchiha's rising irritation, he knew Naruto would obey. For over five years his one time best friend and rival had obeyed anything and everything the older man had commanded, no matter how unsavory or petty. It had been a very long time since Naruto had to be punished for some sort of infraction. Which wasn't to say he no longer was punished. Sasuke was a volatile master, and in the Uchiha's growing dissatisfaction for how well Naruto had bent to his will, the younger man often found himself the victim of violence, simply because Sasuke needed an outlet for his rage or disappointment.

Sasuke suddenly sighed, reached out and unclipped the golden collar from around Naruto's neck, revealing the slim silver circlet, the chakra blocker that hadn't been removed since that terrible day so long ago. That day when Naruto woke to find he had lost everything; his freedom, his friends and homeland, his secret love, his innocence, his virtue, his very hopes and dreams. The day that Naruto refused to ever, ever remember. In the following days, and weeks, and months, and years, Sasuke had done many more terrible things to him than what occurred at the very beginning of his enslavement, but the shock and betrayal of that first day was more that Naruto could bear to remember, and and still protect what was left of his battered and broken spirit from further harm. With an impatient sound, Sasuke flung the outward badges of Naruto's slavery onto the floor with a heavy clank and clatter.

Naruto watched his master with vague stirrings of unease. Sasuke was behaving so erratically and out of character that it concerned the younger man. In such a state, the Uchiha was too unpredictable to anticipate, and Naruto was afraid that he would suffer more because of it. A slave that cannot constantly and perfectly anticipate his master's moves and thoughts was a punished slave. And Sasuke still hurt Naruto without reason often enough for the young man to consider courting more. For the first time in a long while, Naruto felt the stirrings of fear, but kept it close and contained, lest Sasuke see it, and react as he knew the older man would.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and led him to the bed, pushing him down to sit cross legged upon its pillowy surface, and then crawled in after him, sitting on his knees before his slave, and staring into those beautiful blue eyes. He was searching, searching, searching for something, anything. Anything of the boy he once knew, and had broken so long ago.

"Naruto?" The Uchiha's voice was soft, almost begging, as he drowned in the younger man's azure eyes. "Naruto?"

Sasuke using his given name was so rare as to be unheard of. Dobe, loser, bitch, whore, slut, slave, Kitsune, moron, fucker, shithead, the occasional use of his surname… these appellations and more were all that the Uchiha ever spoke to or of him by. Not once since Sasuke had taken him away, and stolen everything from him had he heard Sasuke call him simply by his name. Much less spoken to him in such a tone. He was so startled he barely squashed a surprised blink. "Yes, Master?"

Something flickered deep in Sasuke's dark eyes, something so quickly gone, Naruto wasn't sure he'd really seen it, and not imagined it. Then Sasuke gave a bored sigh and lay back on the bed.

"Pleasure me, bitch." He snapped.

"Yes, Master," Naruto responded, deeply relieved. This he could handle.


	5. Chapter 5

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 5

Impassive as ever, Naruto reached up and quickly and efficiently stripped Sasuke of his clothes, leaving his own on, as he'd not been commanded to do otherwise. When Sasuke demanded to be pleasured, that is what he expected. If his master wanted him naked, he would let him know.

And Sasuke did. "Take off your clothes." The irritability in his master's voice was easy to hear. Naruto rose to his knees and gracefully removed his garments, his every move and action a lesson in seduction. A faint smile graced his pale lips, and he shook out his unruly blonde hair as soon as the sheer dress was pulled from his head by graceful hands. "Yes, Master," he whispered in a husky voice.

His slave's easy willingness and apparent eagerness to please assuaged Sasuke's abraded nerves, and he settled more deeply into the bed, his own small smile gracing his well shaped mouth. He smiled more fully when he felt Naruto slinking slowly up his body, maintaining as much of full body contact as possible. When Naruto's petal soft lips found the sensitive hollow below his right ear, Sasuke sighed softly, tilting his head to the left and back, exposing more of his neck.

It was a slow, dreamy series of soft kisses, moist licks, and gentle nips following the curve of his throat to the crook of his neck, where the blonde lingered, sucking gently. He would leave a very faint mark, one that would fade within minutes. Naruto was not allowed to mark his master in any way. Sasuke was the one that did the marking, from livid purplish hickies, sluggishly bleeding bite imprints to an actual brand of the Uchiha fan on Naruto's left shoulder blade.

One smooth, hairless thigh, made so by harsh chemical treatments early on in his captivity, inserted itself between Sasuke's masculine thighs gently, a silken knee rubbing the underside of his balls ever so lightly, while one velvety soft hand trailed slowly down a quickening chest to gently tease a bronzed nipple. A hand that was followed wetly by a skilled mouth, that settled not on the nipple softly tweaked, but the other, neglected one. Sasuke groaned softly as his slave lightly worried that hardening nub between the gentlest of teeth.

Sasuke began to make a soft noise in the back of his throat as Naruto's hand abandoned the nipple to move downwards once again, his mouth sliding moistly across a well developed if slender chest to anoint the first nipple with his breath and tongue.

"Naruto…" Sasuke breathed erratically, heart beginning to race, pulse pounding, "look at me."

At his master's command, Naruto ceased his ministrations and looked up into Sasuke's eyes, those blue ones still cool and remote.

Sasuke's arousal vanished like smoke on the breeze. His damn slave felt nothing out of this. Nothing! Rage changed the flush on his pale cheeks from excitement to fury, and he didn't even begin to consider that he had started this sexual relationship with the younger man in violence and rape, and that to this date, he'd never even considered whether or not Naruto gained anything from their 'encounters'. All he could see, at this moment in time, that once again, Naruto had completely broken, completely bent to Sasuke's will; utterly, completely, and entirely. Until just recently, this had pleased Sasuke no end. Naruto was _his. _

But as of late, a vague feeling of dissatisfaction had begun to plague him, every time he even so much as looked at his blonde slave. And now, having seen Naruto's complete lack of any reaction whatsoever towards his long lost kinsmen, Sasuke knew that what he had with his dobe was no longer enough.

How dare Naruto feel nothing when they made love! How dare his blonde be unmoved by his favors, his passion? HOW DARE HE!

Lost in a sudden vortex of rage and hurt and betrayal, not even caring that this was all of his own making, Sasuke viciously grabbed the blonde silken hair and yanked the younger man's head back.

"So this is how you want it? Sasuke snarled, his voice sheathed in silk, yet exuding menace. To his intense satisfaction, he saw Naruto's eyes widen in fear. At least now, that damn slut was reacting to him. "So be it…."

It was over three hours later before the Otokage left his chambers, making him twenty minutes late for the opening talks betwixt Sound and the Konoha/Suna coalition. He hadn't bothered to shower or change after his little interlude with his slave, just wiped away the traces of blood, and smirked as he took his seat before his stony faced ex kinsmen. He knew he reeked of musk and a hint of copper, and for the first time, regretted that he'd never allowed Naruto to mark him during sex. Sporting a love bite or two would surely fuel the fire of their rage and pain.

And he was not disappointed. Though Konohamaru and Sakura were not in evidence, as Sakura was their medic, and not needed for these talks, and both Neji and Kakashi had agreed before hand that the boy had better remain with his countrywoman rather than be tempted to more acts of impetuous violence. They did not doubt for one second that if Konohamaru lost his head again, Sasuke would put him to death, and there would be nothing they could do about it. Those remaining were hard pressed themselves, with all the innuendos and provocative comments about their erstwhile missing kinsman to not follow Konohamaru's earlier lead.

Less than an hour into their talks, the Otokage paused to summon Kabuto, three chairs down, to his side.

"These talks will last longer than anticipated," Sasuke began, implying it was the emissaries' fault instead of his own. "Go to my chambers and see to my dobe. I used him rather hard earlier. It's not like he has the resources to heal himself anymore."

Deathly silence greeted his words, even as Kabuto hurried away to obey, smirking all the while. The Konohans radiated barely repressed fury, and Gaara's face was almost as red as his hair in his wrath.

Hinata had received every one of Sasuke's little Naruto related digs and implications with a barely perceptible shrinking, and one would have thought this last, blatant remark would reduce her to trembling, stuttering tears, but that woman suddenly sat up straighter, and did not glance once at Neji, the leader of the talks, or Kakashi, his second.

"Exactly why are we here, Otokage-_san_?" She asked in a steely voice, the honorific bursting with tones of disdain.

Sasuke smirked, eyes gleaming at this unexpected interruption from the least likely candidate. "Why, to discuss negotiations with Konoha and Suna, of course."

"As crafty and convincing as you may wish to be," she resumed, eyes unwinking and rather unearthly in their hardness, "I beg to differ. In fact, I will go so far as to call you a liar, Uchiha Sasuke."

The others looked at her so quickly they almost experienced whiplash, and though for a moment, Neji looked as if to interrupt, Gaara shook his head, watching his diminutive wife with eyes that were filled with confidence.

One of Sasuke's aristocratic brows quirked, and he smiled coldly. "Liar? You go too far, Hyuuga."

"I am a Sabaku now, Uchiha," Hinata said stiffening slightly, "though no less proud of my Hyuuga heritage. And I was born, and will ever be a Konohan in my soul, though my heart now lies in the desert sands of Suna. A liar I call you, and a liar you are. You sicken me with your digs and slurs and games of depravity and candy coated hostility. Is it war you seek with us? For that is what you will find, if you continue on as you have begun."

Sasuke sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers and smirked even wider if possible. "Surely you jest. Why would I seek war with the strongest nation in the land? One allied with another, almost equally powerful one, might I add?"

"Enough," Hinata met his smirk with one of her own, impossible as that seemed. "You flaunt what you have done and continue to do with one of our own, seeking to goad us into some sort of retaliation. You are a traitor of the rankest sort, and have finally shown your true colors. Hide behind your fancy walls, and opulent lifestyles if you like, but you are a petty tyrant and no better than a slaver. I am sure your deceased family are rolling over in their graves with mortification at your so _honorable_ actions."

Fury flashed across Sasuke's face and he almost leapt to his feet. Hinata, the sweet, gentle and shy Hinata had just insulted him, his honor, and indirectly, his family. Hinata!

Hinata stood slowly, looking down at him in derision. "You claim you want to begin a glorious new age, but all you have done is flaunt how you have degraded one of the finest men I have ever known. Naruto is one of us! Give him back. Or stop your lies and declare the war you so obviously covet."

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke's fury winked out, and a slow smirk graced his pale lips. His coal black eyes pierced Hinata's aplomb, and it was all that woman could do to remain steadfast, and not fall into floundering and stuttering as she still was prone to do.

"So it's to be you," Sasuke said in almost a whisper, still unblinking. "Though, it's surely not so surprising. But I would have thought…" He trailed away, and though his eyes never left Hinata, it was plain to see he was oblivious to them all.

"What the hell do you mean by that, Uchiha?" Gaara snarled, leaping up and placing one protective arm about his wife.

Gaara's reaction finally snapped Neji out of his Hinata induced surprise. It was high time he took back control of this meeting. But deep down, he was bursting with pride.

Sasuke flicked his fingers dismissively. "Nothing of importance… Just that out of all you here, who is it that finally challenges me? Was it you, Kakashi? Filled with righteous indignation for what I've done to your ex student? No."

He turned to Neji, to Shikamaru, to Kiba, cutting each of those men with his chilly gaze. "Was it any of you, with your proclamations of friendship and salvation… did any of you raise a voice to me?" Then Gaara caught the Uchiha's cold eyes. "And you… who profess to love Naruto so much. Who pretends to love him so much you call out his name when you fuck his wife. What have you said and done during all this?"

Sasuke looked away. "Not a goddamned thing."

Suddenly he stood up, and leveled all of them with his arctic glare. "Nothing… from any of you. And you call yourselves men. You leave it all up to a child to raise his hand against me. To a woman, the most timid of you all, to speak up against me. You sicken me. If this is all Konoha has to offer, perhaps Hinata is right. Perhaps it is war I will seek."

And with that deadly comment, Sasuke swept regally from the room.


	6. Chapter 6

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 6

When Kabuto arrived at Sasuke's bedchambers, he did so with a smirk, one hand already fondling the needles in his medkit. He was so excited by this chance that his thighs trembled and he grew moist between his legs. But all he found inside were a couple of female slaves, occasional bedmates of the Otokage when Naruto was too hurt to perform, busily stripping the blood dotted sheets from the massive bed.

Those two young women, alike as two peas in a pod, gregarious and cheerful, were unusually somber as they cleaned up the evidence of Naruto's latest rape. Though they found their lives in Sound so much better than the filthy drudgery and distasteful clientele of prostitution in the harsh northern climes where they'd been born, and found honor in the fact that the great Uchiha only tapped them as bedmates, they were horrified every time they had to come to the Kage's chambers and clean up after one of Sasuke's sexual rampages. Not only were they loathe to see such violence happen to a creature so quiet and gentle, but every time their lord lost control and injured his concubine, they would have to attend him.

Despite the honors accorded them in not only the slave hall, but among the bevy of pampered and perfumed ladies of the nobility, for being the only beings under the sun to be summoned to the Otokage's bedchamber other than Naruto himself, who lived there with him, not was all as it would seem. Not once had the Uchiha ever laid so much as a hand upon either young woman, much less kiss or bed them. No… for whatever inexplicable reason, the Uchiha had given them yet another honor, one no one else, save perhaps Kabuto, knew of. They were the recipients of Sasuke Uchiha's drunken rambles of remorse and reminiscence.

_He was so happy, always so happy, _he'd whisper to them, his cheeks flushed with sake, eyes bright with not only remembered pleasure, but with unshed tears. _He had the most beautiful smile, and his eyes would sparkle like stars. I… I miss that. …Naruto…_ and then he would weep silent tears, and the girls would feel their hearts wrung with pity. Over the years, they'd been given a precious gift… the knowledge of how the Uchiha's beautiful enslaved consort had been in his youth; Naruto's brightness, his courage, his bravery, his strength… and then at other times, Sasuke would stride about, sweeping priceless objects to smash against the marble floors with nigh unbridled fury, as he snarled about the young man that shared his bed and life now. His stupidity, his gullibleness, his obtuseness, his obliviousness, his ridiculous ninja way…_ He never understood how I felt, what I needed from him… he never knew, never guessed… stupid fucking dobe! How dare he ignore what I wanted, needed, that only he could give. How could he betray me… _and again, he would whisper Naruto's name and begin to cry.

And the girls would look at him with stars in their glistening eyes and girlish hearts, and later croon to each other how their lord was so _romantic _and_ brooding, _and_ so in love… _It was a veritable _tragic lovestory _in their very midst… And they loved their lord, with all their might and main, and could not, would not, admit the evil he did to someone he apparently loved so much. He was just… _misunderstood, lost… _But one day, their conquering hero would find his way, and he and Naruto would walk into the sunset, arm in arm, and live happily ever after. Because only with Naruto did the Uchiha lose control. Only with Naruto did their lord reveal such an ugly and unforgiving facet of his personality. Only with Naruto… with everyone else, save enemies of course, he was just and wise, and all that a Kage could be.

At first, once he sobered up from his drunken ramblings, Sasuke would threaten them to silence, but soon realized it was unnecessary. One thing he had learned from Orochimaru, was the value of rescue. Take someone from the pits of despair, from the dregs of depravity, and you have a devoted follower for life. The girls' lives in their little grimy home was so hopeless, so degrading, that the sexual and domestic enslavement they found in Sound was a blessing to them… as it was with the majority of Sounds slaves. Most slaves were pampered, well fed, and labored hardly at all. Life for them was very good after what they'd grown up with, and Sasuke was a little more astute than his late mentor… He was always careful to never force his slaves, or regular followers for that matter, into doing something that would question his authority over them. Thus, in over six years, the Uchiha has had his confidants in these two star struck slave girls, and they would take his secret to the grave with them if need be.

As much as the girls loved their life here in sound, admired their Kage with worshipful adoration, and doted on the gentle and uncomplaining Naruto, as much as they giggled and laughed and sported with their fellow slaves, and the commoners of Sound, they _loathed _Kabuto. He was vile and creepy, and went about with a palpable miasma of evil about him in his home digs. They feared and hated him in equal measure. Kabuto answered to no one but his Otokage, and was one of the few folk from Orochimaru's Sound that still remained in the Uchiha's domain. Privy as they were to Sasuke's drunken confessions of his lover and slave, they too knew things about the silver haired medic nin and self confessed sadist, Kabuto. For they were the only ones beside Sasuke and Kabuto himself, that knew how depraved, how… unwholesome, the young man was.

When Kabuto had first met Naruto, he'd been disdainful of the boy. Later that would turn to a grudging respect. Had they not been on opposite sides of Sound/Konoha war, and putting aside the whole torture-for-fun-profit-and-pleasure personality Kabuto wore like a proud cloak, they might have been friends. But now Kabuto hated Naruto with a passion, and never let an opportunity slide to belittle or outright torture the blonde.

It was well known among the more unsavory denizens of Sound, or wherever Kabuto happened to be at any given moment, that Orochimaru's right hand man had been born a hermaphrodite. He was pleased and proud of this unusual little birthright. And he loved to play either role in bed. However, that was no longer an accurate description of the man. Less than a week into Naruto's stay in Sound, Kabuto, ego bloated by his past importance to Orochimaru, being that evil man's personal bitch, and the only one of the previous Kage's regime to remain, and the importance Sasuke put on his medical and interrogational skills, had over reached himself. Kabuto believed himself invulnerable to certain rules with his new master. And look at Sasuke as a master, he did. Though he never had the pleasure of Sasuke's body, he knew his new Lord held him in certain esteem, and believed he could do little wrong. But he had been gravely mistaken; and had the Uchiha walked in even one minute later than he had, Kabuto would have been messily dead instead of… punished.

From the second Sasuke brought his Konohan trophy to Sound, he made no bones about telling everyone that the Uzumaki was his, and his alone. To trespass on the Otokage's possession was punishable by a painful, bloody, slow death. Despite this, Kabuto was important enough to Sasuke that he did not die for his transgression, as anyone else would have. No… for the crime of being found by his lord with fingers deep and dry where they should not have been, for needles protruding from a helpless blonde's body in the most painful places, one minute away from sliding his pathetically small and loathsome penis into his Lord and Master's personal and most precious possession… Kabuto had not died. He'd been emasculated. Never again would this silver haired sadist ever know the pleasures of a man. Now he was relegated to the simpler and less pleasureable passions of a woman. Sasuke had done the deed, on the spot, himself. Naruto, having lapsed into a pain filled delirium, hadn't realized what had happened less than two inches from his tortured body. But Kabuto did. And blamed the blonde for his loss, and a sore loss it was. Not once did it cross his mind to hate and resent Sasuke for what had happened. He was too in thrall with his Kage to feel anything but a slavish devotion. No, it was that willful, demon bearing pathetic excuse for a ninja that did. It was all Naruto's fault… The loss of his beloved Master and lover, Orochimaru, his inability to find the same in Sasuke's bed… All. Naruto's. Fault. It festered in Kabuto's heart and soul. And he never lost a chance to punish Naruto for it.

And the Uchiha was well aware of Kabuto's feelings. It was rare, but in the last vestiges of whatever rage fueled Sasuke, he would occasionally allow Kabuto to vent a little on his slave. It was a silent understanding that no sexual acts occur between his slave and his henchman, and that no one save Sasuke himself was allowed to mark Naruto, and it went without saying that he couldn't cause permanent harm or kill the blonde. But Kabuto was a highly skilled medic, and knew endless ways to inflict excruciating pain within those boundaries. And loved to skate as close to the edge as he could upon the hapless slave. Sometimes Naruto would be unable to rise from his bed, much less perform for Sasuke, after a stint with Kabuto. Those times, after indulging in a good drunken session with his girls, Sasuke would punish his little sadist, but thus far anything the Uchiha had done to the silver haired devil had not given Kabuto a moment's regret. The pain and degradations of such punishments was well worth the chance to make the blonde scream and bleed, to hear anguished sobs from the slaves… to make Naruto _beg… _ Ah, yes, it was all worth it in Kabuto's eyes. And how he loved to watch Naruto's eyes whenever he told the blonde that Sasuke permitted these little sessions. That Sasuke would smile and laugh when Kabuto reported back to him after each one. This last little bit was a lie, of course, but Naruto never knew that. And every time, just a little bit more of the blonde died inside.


	7. Chapter 7

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 7

Shell shocked by the Uchiha's parting words, the Coalition retreated to their quarters, and there spoke their carefully coded phrases in hushed tones.

To an uneducated ear, it sounded as if they were discussing such mundane things like the weather, past experiences, and the price of tea in China. But to those in the know, other shinobi, it was obviously they were exchanging more than pleasantries. But only the Konohans knew this particular code. Not even Tsunade could have easily understood them. Sasuke had once been a Konohan himself, and any code they knew he could have easily deciphered. No, this one they had perfected betwixt only themselves as soon as they knew their mission.

Neji relayed to Hinata their discussions in a code only known to the Hyuuga, and she then in turn was able to bring Gaara into the light with their own secret tongue, only known to her and the ex Kazekage himself. It had its roots in their shared grief at Naruto's loss, and was their favorite topic of conversation. It was the only way they could talk to their heart's content without the ever present Suna council and elders knowing.

Once they had completely debated the events of the meeting, silence fell, thick and uncomfortable. They stood on the brink of war. And though it was something they all secretly cherished, it had unimaginable ramifications, and was not to be embarked upon lightly. It would not be a simple matter of warfare between Sound and Suna and Konoha. The Uchiha's spider like webs of finance, commerce and obligation spread far and wide, and all nations would be drawn in eventually. It would span the known lands, from breadth to width, and none would escape its bloody jaws.

No… as much as they all craved to avenge their enslaved kinsman and loved one, it was not something they would choose to happen. There had to be another way.

In the ensuing silence that followed their mental defeat, Neji suddenly stood up, startling his companions. He stalked over to where Hinata sat beside her husband on the couch, and suddenly, bent one knee, hand at his breast, head bowed in submissive respect.

Hinata drew in a sharp breath. Surely, she knew the past antagonism her cousin held for her was utterly gone. It had been replaced with a gentle affection. But here was Neji, according her the honor given only to the head of the whole Hyuuga clan. He knelt before her like a warrior before his queen.

"Hinata-sama," his voice was low, not hushed, and the code words had fallen away. He didn't care who heard him. He would shout it from the rooftops if such were proper. "Though such a thing is not to be, I would follow you. I would give you my complete clan loyalty, if I could."

Tears rushed to Hinata's eyes. Such a thing was not lightly given, even to bloodline candidates, of which she no longer could claim. She had given up such rights and possibilities the moment she agreed to wed Gaara.

Neji looked up, smiled faintly and rose, taking the hands she stretched out to him. "I am free to give my personal loyalty where I choose. I am proud of you, cousin. And I will follow wherever you lead us now. As your cousin, kinsman, and your friend."

"N..Neji," she stammered, falling into the childish habit from shock. "Don't be silly. I am no leader. If anything, I seem to have brought us closer to war, and farther from freeing Naruto from his bondage." She blinked her tears away, the enormity of her actions chilling her.

"I wouldn't say that," Shikamaru's laconic voice suddenly chimed in. He was staring at a ring dangling from his fingers by a golden chain, holding it out from his neck. It was a gift from Temari, a sign of their betrothal. The ties between Konoha and Suna tightened with every passing day.

"You are just being kind, but…" Hinata began, eyes downcast.

"No," Kakashi broke in, voice deceptively easy. Sasuke's parting comments had shot deep into his heart. "Despite his words, you impressed the Uchiha. You took him by surprise, both you and Konohamaru."

The boy in question stared stubbornly at a spot on the wall. He was furious at not being at the meeting. Oh, he would have done more than verbally confront the traitor. Indeed. Someone would have died in that room. And though, deep down in his heart of hearts, he knew it would have been him, he would not have gone down without a fight. Sasuke Uchiha would have remembered him to his dying days. And if he had his way, the damn Otokage still would. He would cheerfully sacrifice his own life if it meant breaking Naruto from this shameful, debasing slavery, and brought the Sunshine of Konoha back home, where he belonged.

"From the sounds of it," Sakura broke in hopefully, no less angry than Konohamaru at being excluded from that all important and pivotal meeting, just more mature about containing it, "it sounds as if Sasuke _wants_ us to free Naruto. That he's angry we haven't yet."

Kakashi shook his head slowly. "Not at all. Sasuke has no intention of giving Naruto up, that much is obvious. He's just angry that _women_ and _children_ have been the only ones to confront him for his misdeeds." He cast a stern but placating glance at Konohamaru, who looked ready to explode. "Sasuke has never had any use for women or children, either personally or professionally. Or sexually. Despite the fact he still can be counted as two of the three; he's very young, for a kage and as skilled a Shinobi as he is. And obviously, he was not as asexual as some would have thought."

Here Kakashi faltered, once again swamped by guilt. Even before Sasuke had defected from Konoha so many years ago, his sensei had not been impervious to the intensity with which Sasuke had regarded his blonde teammate. He'd suspected even then that Sasuke's vaunted asexuality was a front for something deeper, something more unexpected. Something that involved Konoha's number one knuckleheaded ninja. And that Naruto had returned that intensity was made glaringly apparent in the years since then, at how fervent the blonde had been about bring his precious person home. Now that Sasuke had his blonde, Kakashi wondered wistfully what had gone wrong between them to bring them to this pass; the cruelty and humiliation the Uchiha heaped upon the hapless boy's head.

Deep down, Kakashi had hoped that Naruto had simply been convinced to stay by Sasuke's side, and abandon his dreams of being the Hokage. After all, the boy had set them aside for so long to bring Sasuke home. It was no great leap of faith to think that the Uchiha had convinced him to continue to do so, to travel with him. But when Sasuke popped back up on radar, so smooth, so suave, so very competent and free from his previous dark brooding, and without any word of Naruto, the ex sensei's heart misgave him. Obviously he'd been grossly wrong in what truly lay in Sasuke's mind in his and Naruto shared childhood. And Naruto, who'd loved Sasuke unreservedly, had suffered for it.

"If only I had paid closer attention… if only I had acted…" Kakashi didn't realize he'd murmured the last words aloud. Soft and self-incriminating.

"If only does not serve us now," Shikamaru spoke up again, still maddeningly twirling his ring on his necklace. "The signs were there for all to see. Don't feel so alone in your idea that you were mistaken. We all were. Cha, it's all so very troublesome. If only we could get the Uchiha to give up Naruto and we could all go home and live happily ever after."

Like Kakashi, the lazy ninja had long ago taken notice of Sasuke and Naruto's antics. Unlike Kakashi though, who'd been blinded by the inescapable affection for his prize student, notably Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru knew that when Sasuke finally broke cover and claimed his own, it would bring grief to Naruto. However, the shadow user had never, ever conceived that Sasuke would take it so far. Despite his wonted placidity and customary laziness, he burned to bring Sasuke to his knees. Burned to utterly destroy the last Uchiha, and consign the cursed bloodline to oblivion. Every time he thought of Naruto now, he felt the insane desire to cry like a child. This is what that selfish bastard had reduced Naruto to. Naruto! The brightest of them all, shining like a beacon in the night, reduced to a pallid, chilly doppelganger of who he had been.

Neji, no less affected by the blonde's plight than anyone there, spoke crisply. "Regret over the past aids us not at all. It cannot be changed. Immutable as fate." His lip curled in derision. Fate be damned. Surely it was not Naruto's fate to die in this place, in this fashion. Not Naruto. "We still have to bring him home. Where he belongs. Where he is _fated_ to be. Home."

"Easily said than done," Kiba snarled. His dark eyes burned. He longed to save Naruto from this ignomious fate, and go home to Akamaru, where he could bury his face in his life long friends white silky fur, and give into the raging sobs he so wanted to release. "You heard Kakashi. The fucker's not going to give up Naruto without a fight, no matter how unimpressed he is with us men, or impressed with women and children."

Gaara had been silent. Digesting the conversation going on around him. They were drifting into dangerous waters. And then he gave a sudden chilly smile, reminiscent of his homicidal days and leaned forward, lapsing into his code, reminding them all of where there were and what really was at stake.

Hinata started, argued a moment, shivered, and then relayed her husband's words to Neji.

Neji blinked, sat utterly still for a moment, then gave as creepy as smile as Gaara's before lapsing into their own code.

"Send in the women and children." Throaty laughter, almost frightening in it's rarity and diversion of character, escaped both Neji's and Gaara's lips as they put their heads together again.


	8. Chapter 8

Slave of Sound

Chapter 8

When Naruto regained his senses the next morning, he groaned softly, his body aching fiercely. Long gone were the days when he could heal in a few hours or days. The bruises and torn flesh he sported now, though minor considering his condition sometimes, would hurt for several days. From the soft muted light in the room, the quiet, he surmised he was in DeKrisso's chambers. Alone, and out of harm's way.

For one moment, his eyes burned intensely, and a quivering sigh, almost a sob, burst from his lips. His heart ached even more furiously than his body. Would this nightmare never end? Would he never awaken from this hellish existence?

But no… he wouldn't let himself think, wouldn't let himself feel. That path led to even more pain and despair. A rapid blink, and the single tear quivering on his lower lashes was destroyed, and once again the blonde lay on the soft bed, his eyes cool, distant, and empty. The slave drew in a deep, calm breath, and let everything bleed away with the exhalation. Fortified, he forayed deep into the dark recesses of his mind, where his memories of a past, forgotten life long ago were contained. On the rare occasion that Naruto was forced to confront glimpses of hearty laughter, sweaty exhausted happiness, and bright sunshine glinting off scintillating leaves, he always turned away from them. Those memories of his life before slavery, had become so incomprehensible to him, so foreign to the life he now lived, that it was easy to disregard them. After all, the only time he every opened this particular door in his mind, was to shove in remembrances that threatened his serenity now; like the tear and sob from a few seconds before. Naruto slammed that door shut without a second thought.

He sat up slowly, swallowing the groan of pain that accompanied such movement. Running graceful hands over his body, he ascertained the extent of his injuries and his only friend's methods of tending them; his chest was bandaged from navel almost to throat. He dimly remembered his Master snarling, raking his flanks with cruel nails, biting hard enough to bring blood welling to the surface. His back ached abominably, and sitting was almost excruciating. Master had been especially harsh today. He poked memories clouded with a soundtrack of high screams and wordless sobs, for he'd learned early on to never, ever hold back. When Sasuke was like that, holding it in stoically only led to longer, crueler, more prolonged torment. When the pain became too much, Naruto always gave in and screamed and cried. It seemed to satisfy some sickness in the man he only dimly remembered he'd once called friend.

To alleviate the pain in his rear, he stood up shakily, his legs trembling, muscles twitching from being forced into such unnatural positions for so long. He stood there, swaying for a moment, before he forced the pain into yet another unmarked door in his mind. For some reason, this place bothered him even more than the other. For inside this door lurked a smiling Sasuke, whispered boyish confidences, and a playful competition. Shaking, Naruto turned away, and faced reality once more. The past was a dangerous hindrance to his well being, and was as good as dead to him.

Tightening the belt of his voluminous robe resolutely, he walked slowly, so slowly, to the door, and slid back out. There were duties to attend to, and Master was not one to let such things slide simply because he was half beaten to death. His face, always untouched, because Sasuke had some sort of fixation with the way he looked, smoothed out, and he glided noiselessly down familiar halls towards the private chambers that he now called home, all the while pondering what he could do to repay the gnarled old man that was once again his succor. DeKrisso had been a slave for a long, long time, and had given up hope some time ago. Whenever possible, Naruto did what he could for his only friend.

But before he could gain the dubious sanctuary of his shared residence with his slaver, he looked up, blinking into a vaguely familiar face.

Sakura moved through the hallways with a shinobi's grace. Sleekly muscled, even more beautiful than ever, she wore her military garb as if it were a second skin. Borrowing a page from Naruto's book, when Sasuke had abducted the blonde so long ago, she'd thrown herself into her training. _She had to get stronger to get him back!_

A wistful smile twisted her lips now, thinking about that. Watching Naruto train relentlessly when he was in Konoha, and hearing about it when he was away with Jiraiya, she'd followed the same path a few years later. Once she realized Naruto wasn't coming back; that Sasuke was to blame, she'd gone to everyone she knew.

She'd learned as much of the gentle-fist technique from Neji and Hinata as was possible for a non Hyuuga. She slapped Kakashi's book away, then forced him to train with her as well. She'd learned speed and honed her already considerable strength with a starry eyed Lee. She's convinced Shino to impart some of his bug knowledge, and coaxed Shikamaru and Ino to educate her about shadows and souls. Of course, she'd continued her training with Tsunade, and then cornered Jiraiya, and coerced a years worth of training from the white haired Sannin. Well she remembered more than one night at a tea house, Jiraiya half drunk on Sake, and listened to the older man spin his reminisces about his journeys with Naruto. When he'd sobered up, she lured him into the woods with sweet voiced songs, and then wore him out with training. Though she would never master the Fourth's technique, she was adept enough with chakra that she was able to form tiny little rasengans. Such was her will and desire to bring home the Light of Konoha.

Nothing remained of the brassy, overbearing, voluptuous maiden she'd been in those days. Now she was sleek and wiry, skilled and deadly, eschewing her fancy garb of yore for dark, utilitarian clothing. She spoke softly and used a deadly fist in place of a big stick. She kept her pink hair cropped close to her skull, disdained makeup of any kind, and had roamed the Fire country sporting the white fox mask of an ANBU. She was skilled in all types of fighting, interrogation and torture, extraordinary healing, and the soft but steely tongue of a diplomat. 

As she walked the halls quietly seeking the lord of this land, she smiled again, grimly this time. She'd trained for years for this day, and at last it was at hand. Naruto was found. Now it was time to bring him home.

She rounded a corner, and saw her quarry. He was directing a couple of slaves in some sort of duty, several Sound warriors lurking nearby. Her steps never faltered as Sasuke looked up and pinned her with his ebony gaze. She continued on in a silent, catlike tread, her eyes roving the Uchiha's form from head to toe, before a derisive curl of her lip graced her visage. She stopped before her one time love, now despised enemy, and stared up at him fearlessly, her eyes filled with loathing.

"Uchiha…" She drawled coolly.

Hinata glided over the mosaic tiles of the garden path with an eerie silence, a sandy eyeball floating at her shoulder, half hidden in her long inky hair. In the night and morning since that ill fated meeting with the Otokage, she and her husband had learned enough about Naruto's plight to break her delicate heart. She ached with the knowledge of what her true love had suffered.

She laid in her husband's arms last night and wept hopelessly, as had he, at the ruin of something so precious. After everything that had happened, what would become of Naruto once the yoke of slavery was removed from his shoulders? Even if they were able to free him and bring him home, Naruto was ruined. He would never, ever be the same. What kind of life would he live now, being as soul deep scarred as he was? She'd seen his eyes in the dining hall, the sparkle of his eyes quenched forever; she brightness of his smile gone as if it never existed. The Naruto Uzumaki they had all known and loved was as dead as his name on the memorial stone claimed. The Light of Konoha was no more.

But the tears had passed, as they always did, and she looked into Gaara's eyes and met the same steely resolve there that lurked in her own. Then she dried her eyes, kissed her husband, and left the room. She spent the rest of the night in Sakura's room, the two of them talking like never before, crying, and finally, whispering deadly secrets to each other. And now, she was ready for her part.

The two others had already left for their own missions, the women and children that seemed to be Sasuke's weak spot. As she walked soundlessly, she marveled that they were the once to catch the Uchiha's attention, his… respect, oddly enough. She should have known that only someone as strange and twisted as she'd always known Sasuke Uchiha to be could find respect in that which he scorned the most; women and children. The things that annoyed the Uchiha were the things he paid attention to, and responded to. 

Just look at Naruto; no one had annoyed Sasuke more than the loud mouthed blonde; yet it was Naruto that Sasuke stole away and forced into his bed. Hinata had no doubt that in his own strange way, Sasuke loved Naruto. But his past, and his brooding upon the same had twisted that love into something dark and cruel. 

She paused a moment in her steps, dark head cocked to one side. Did the Uchiha even know how to show love? He'd lost everything so young, and had grown up so isolated, and then subjected himself to Orochimaru's dark perversions for three years. Was it any wonder that Sasuke didn't know the first thing about love and tenderness?

She resumed her path with a shake of her head. It didn't matter. Sasuke stood between them and what they would have. And if her dark haired, dark eyes fellow kinsman and distant relative died as a result of this rescue operation, so be it. She would mourn when that time came. Nothing but Naruto mattered now.

But such thoughts fled her mind as she heard Kabuto's cruel voice viciously berating some gardeners through a screening of bamboo. She watched them in privacy for a moment, drawing a deep breath, and remembering what Sakura had said to her in the early hours of the morning. She pushed aside her normal meek and gentle demeanor and let a cold smile coat her mouth. She would hope from the bottom of her heart that Naruto could be saved, but the creature she gazed upon now was irredeemable. And to be perfectly honest, she wouldn't have it any other way. 

Her hands flew through a series of quick signs, and she nodded. She was ready. She stepped out from the screening of bamboo, a meek and lost expression on her face. 

_Showtime_. 


	9. Chapter 9

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 9

"Oh! K..Kabuto-san…" Hinata stammered, cheeks pink when the medic nin and the three gardener's he'd been haranguing looked up. "I… Forgive me… I seem to have gotten lost…" She drew in deep breath, as if with Herculean effort.

Kabuto gave a feral smile, and instantly dismissed the men with curt reminders of what lay in wait for them if they disappointed him again. He turned to the blushing girl with an oily smile.

"Hinata-sama, I see you have found the gardens. Are they not beautiful." Long fingered white hands gestured about vaguely. It certainly was a stunning place.

Hinata felt a chill crawl up her spine at his voice, and forced herself not to stare at those hands that had tormented the one she loved for so long. _Soon… _she promised her inner self calmly. _Soon he will pay._

A shy and hesitant smile flashed across her pallid lips. "I… Indeed they are. It seems as if my straying has been a g… good thing. Yes?" 

Kabuto's smile became even more toothy. "Oh yes. Naruto-sama often comes here after Sasuke's been especially… passionate." Oh, how he loved bating others, but especially these stuck up Konohan Ninja, and even more so those that cared for Naruto. "When he recovers from our Master's… excesses that is."

It was no hard feat to allow her pale hands to clench, her face to drain of color, her eyes to drop, and her voice to stammer, but not for the reasons that this vile creature before her thought, at least not wholly.

"R…r…really? S…so N…Naruto-k…kun spends time h…here?" She asked, almost swallowing her words.

"Oh yes," Kabuto almost sang in his delight. "So does our Kage, especially if _his _Dobe is here too. Of course, it does mean more work for the gardeners, to clean up blood and other… fluids." The silver haired devil almost laughed aloud to see moisture shimmering in those pale milky eyes. "Our Otokage does love his little… games."

Hinata gave a strangled noise, tears spilling over. "N…Naruto…K…Kun…."

Kabuto sidled closer, his eyes burning with unholy pleasure. "Oh, don't be like that, Hinata-sama. Naruto-sama does enjoy these games immensely."

Hinata looked up, pathetic hope shining in her eyes. "He… he does?" She swallowed dryly. "Is… Is… h..he… h…happy?" She took a timid step closer as well.

Another step from the medic nin, eyes brightening at the idea of his own little game. "You should hear him scream. Yes, he's quite the vocal little lover. He screams and sobs and begs for more."

Hinata choked on a sob, gave a shaky step and collapsed in tears. "N…no…" She moaned heartbrokenly. "N…Not… N…Naruto-k…kun… N…No…."

"Oh, yes, he does," Kabuto gloated, catching the frail woman in his arms, reveling in her quaking body, her tear drenched cheeks, her heartbroken eyes, and mournful demeanor. "You should hear the noises Naruto-sama makes when the Otokage is fucking him so hard from behind that his face is shoved into the dirt," he caroled happily. If he'd still had all his parts, he'd be throbbing with excitement. As it was, his thighs trembled and he was very wet between his legs. He got _so _aroused by the pain and suffering of others. And though he couldn't torture Hinata as he would so dearly love to, he would torment her as much as he could. "You'll never guess what Sasuke-kun does then. Oh, it's so beautiful and exiting. Can you imagine what happens next?" He crooned into the stricken woman's ear that trembled in agony so deliciously in his arms.

Hinata abruptly straightened out, all tears and grief and pain gone in a flash, her body rock steady against the medic nin's. "Oh yes, I do know what happens." There was no trace of a stutter in her voice now. "You suffer."

Kabuto's eyes widened with shock, almost comically, as he felt the dig of a fine needle into the tender and unprotected flesh of his neck, lancing through his larynx, cold fluid flooding his throat, pain vibrating along every nerve as the potent drug took immediate effect. Words as cold and remorseless as steel assaulted his ears.

"_You die!"_

No sooner had these words left her mouth, then the dirt at their feet split open, sandy stairs leading down into a lightless void. From the depths of this tomb rose a soft growl of rage as Gaara's third eye left the safety of his wife's hair to stare balefully as the silver haired man sagged in Hinata's suddenly steely grip.

"Now, Kabuto-san," Hinata's voice was as smooth as silk over iron will. "Now it's time to play, and I know how you love these little _games._"

And all Kabuto could do was be dragged into the utter darkness of the earth below, unable to wonder why none of his skills, his body's antidotes weren't working. Little strangled sounds of rage and incomprehension exploded from his paralyzed throat as he slipped, and then fell, assisted by Hinata's none to gentle foot, head over heels into the growing oblivion below the now unspoiled surface of the garden path. The ground had closed up as if nothing had happened the moment Hinata stepped down with her captive.

Kabuto fetched up at the bottom of the impromptu underground lair with a loud grunt. The fall down the stairs, made of sand and dirt that they were, had been more than a little forceful. Cold hands seized him as soon as he stopped, fingers digging into half numb flesh as if made of metal.

Light flared behind him, as Hinata alit from the last sandy step, a newly kindled torch in her hands. Wildly, Kabuto's eyes rolled around and a chill crept over him. He recognized the objects in this new and dark room far below the earth.

"I see you are still in possession of your wits," came Gaara's cold and lethal voice. Kabuto's eyes rolled around again to see it was indeed the sand nin that had picked him up. "Perhaps it will please you to know I took all these things from your personal lab."

A cold steel autopsy table lay in the center of a room, and the glint of various medical and more dark tools were revealed when Hinata stepped past them and brought her torch up to the swinging basket of oil overhead. 

Kabuto gave another grunt as Gaara slapped him ungently against the cold metal table and began to cruelly tighten down the restraints on his limbs.

"Awfully insightful of you, I must say, Kabuto," Gaara drawled, a creepy smile gracing his pale lips as he strapped down even the medic nin's fingers. "I see you thought of everything." Kabuto gave an angry growl as Gaara then picked up a slim silver scapel, and fingered the blade.

"How long will this state last?" Gaara asked her nonchalantly.

Hinata stepped up, the firelight above giving her sweet face ominous shadows as she allowed her husband to slip one arm around her shoulder. "Sakura said with the maximum dose, it should last about two hours. Until then, he wont be able to feel anything. But after that…" White teeth flashed in a feral grin as she stared down at their captive. "He will be exquisitely sensitive."

"Hm." Gaara grunted. "Then let us pass the time more pleasantly than staring at this carrion." And the Sand nin led his delicate little wife away.

Kabuto didn't know how long he lay there, struggling internally, trying to will his body to move, to shake off the effects of whatever drug it was that the sly little bitch had slipped him in her dramatic little play. He felt angry that he'd fallen for such a thing. Though he'd not been present at the meeting when this dainty little miss had shown a bit of spine, he'd heard about it after his fruitless search for Naruto. He should have been wary when she'd been so shy and demure and fucking stammering.

Was that a tingle he felt in his toe? He tried to flex it, staring up into the light overhead.

"Nnnghh… Hinata-chan…"

Gaara's empassioned moan caught Kabuto by surprise, and of its own volition, his head rolled in that direction.

They were making love! Hinata's ivory flesh straddled the pallor of her redhaired lover, rising and falling with quickening thrusts as they kissed each other messily between moans and pants.

"Yes, sandman…" Hinata crooned, throwing her head back, delicate hands covering the larger and rougher ones that cupped her pallid breasts.

Somehow, Kabuto hadn't pegged Gaara as being an endearment using lover, nor Hinata being bold enough to reply in kind. Then it hit him. _Naruto. _Naruto had always called the paled eyed woman Hinata-chan, and had likewise saddled the ex kazekage with the nickname sandman. 

Kabuto was utterly absorbed in watching this twisted bit of love play, riveted to the increasingly rapid thrusts, the unbridled cries of pleasure and passion, the urgency growing between the two lovers. Was completely fascinated when the two of them reached the culmination of their lovemaking by screaming Naruto's name, almost in unison as they came. Watched raptly as they calmed down slowly amid soft kisses and tears. So enthralled was he by this little tableau, he never noticed the increasing sensation in his body until his back arched and he came wetly as they turned as one to stare at him with pleasure drugged eyes.

There was a moment of silence after Kabuto's muffled groan of climax passed. Then those frightening smiles were back. 

"I think it's safe to assume he's ready," Gaara said softly, gently lifting his wife's moist body from his own.

Hinata stood up shakily, slicked sweat dampened tendrils from her face, and then began dressing in medical whites, as was Gaara. 

"Yes," she said firmly. "It's time."

Kabuto's nostrils flared as the reek of sex became almost overbearing as they approached him, strangled threats dribbling past his gagged lips.

Hinata ran a light finger, charged with chakra across his face, and Kabuto flinched and gave a muffled shout. She smiled coldly. "Oh, yes, he's ready."

Gaara ran a hand along the cold gleaming instruments of torture, his kanji marked brow furrowing in thought. "Hm. Where to begin."

He looked up and caught his wife's eyes from where she stood across Kabuto's helpless body. "You pick, Hinata-chan."

But before Hinata moved to join him, she unbound his mouth. "After all," she remarked with what sounded suspiciously like a giggle. "It's not like anyone will hear him scream." Then she turned her attention to the glittering blades and bars and needles on the tray, and picked one up. "This one."

Both of them ignored Kabuto's threats, shouts of revenge, slurs and insults against them, Konoha, Suna, their love, their passion, even Naruto. 

Eyes cold, Gaara took the tool from Hinata's hands. And when those threats turned to appalling screams, Hinata didn't even bat an eye.


	10. Chapter 10

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 10

Sasuke eyed his one time teammate, the girl that had so plagued his existence whilst he was still in Konoha with her unrequited love and refusal to believe he would never return the same. To see her standing so proud and defiant before him now, eyes filled with distain, her lush lips twisted in a sneer, was a little unsettling. However, she was Sakura; always had been, always would be. Without end. He began to turn away from her.

"Uchiha…" she drawled coldly, catching his attention. No Sasuke-kun? No avowals of love and admiration? Hn. Like that would break his heart, her finally waking up from fruitless dreams. But still. There was steel in her eye, in the ramrod spine, the body changed from a child to a breast bound warrior woman. Her attire was as changed as her hair, as her demeanor. Still. Sakura. A disdainful sniff.

"How does it feel to be such a _man _that you had to steal and pervert the only one who ever really loved you?"

At Sakura's coolly delivered taunt, Sasuke's brow arched. Then he gave a suffering sigh. Insubordination again? From yet another woman? Fuck. Obviously the only real man in Konoha had been Naruto. He was not impressed what he was seeing to date in the others.

"Haruno," he responded coldly, "I have never been impressed by you. Not then, not now." He was so not going to be drawn into some pointless discussion with her.

"Ditto," she replied with an Uchiha worthy smirk. "Though would that I could claim I never held you in any esteem." With a casual flick of her fingertips, she dismissed any possibility of respect or admiration towards him now.

Despite himself, Sasuke felt a stirring of a little of those feelings now. He was very good at reading people. It was a skill he had only sharpened in the ensuing years since he departed Konoha. However, it would never do to give her any encouragement, no matter how over him she seemed to be. She was a woman, after all, fickle of heart. He had only to lay on the charm and she would once more be his. It was tempting to do exactly that, then slam her back into ignominy again.

"Che…" he muttered, deeming it not worth the time and effort. He felt indescribably weary just now, and made to turn away again.

"I hate you, you know."

Once more, he turned to her, a little more sharply now. She looked a little lost, a little forlorn.

"I can't believe I wasted all those years pining away for you, when the finest man of all had been before me all along."

Something dark twisted in his gut. Surely she didn't mean… not _his _dobe…

Sakura was now staring vaguely just over his left shoulder, a gentle smile gracing her full lips. "It gave me such a start, when he came back that first time with Jiraiya," she continued, her voice soft, as if speaking to herself and not to him. "It was then I began to realize, what I had been distaining for so long."

Despite himself, despite his growing jealousy and rage, he couldn't move away from her. She was speaking of Naruto how he used to be, and he was helpless to turn away from that.

"He was so handsome, so bright and vivid and _alive," _She smiled dreamily now. "With that bright hair, those blue eyes, and he'd grown taller, and stronger and so manly." She gave a soft laugh. "And then he had to go and open his big mouth and the spell was broken. He was the same inside as ever, despite whatever changes had occurred on the outside. Still loud, still outspoken, still vulgar as ever." Her almost skinny finger lifted to toy with pink hair that barely brushed her high jounin collar almost flirtatiously. "And despite the disappointment I felt, I couldn't deny that I was glad, relieved. He was still my Naruto."

She looked down and began to fretfully twist the slim golden band on her other finger. "And I loved him so much for that." She whispered softly, tears in her eyes.

Sasuke's eyes were drawn of their own volition to those slender hands, that glimmering band. She'd married her admirer Lee just last year. At last that overzealous ardor had won her over.

Still staring at her hands, she smiled and blinked those tears away. "He was always there for me; when I was happy, when I was sad, when my dad died. Naruto was always there for me. Like the brother I never had. And god, I loved him even more." She sighed very softly, so softly, Sasuke almost didn't hear it. 

"He was like that with everyone. Women and children, grizzled old men and cranky old ladies. Even his prune faced fish wife of a landlady was won over. Even the council relaxed it vigil. Naruto was there for _everybody._ Even those that had never shown him anything but scorn and hate and pain. Nothing was too big or too small, too important or too trivial for him. If you were hurting, he was there to comfort you. If you were discouraged, he was there to cheer you on. If you were happy, he was there to laugh along side you. If you were triumphant, he was the first and the loudest to cheer you on. He was always laughing, always smiling, always _there!"_

Once more, Sakura lifted her head to stare over his shoulder, nettling Sasuke. It was like he wasn't even really there, so lost in her reminisces she was. But still, how could he be angry? This was the Naruto he remembered. This was the Naruto he was missing so much right now. Not that cold and empty body he'd left bleeding in his bedroom yesterday afternoon.

"Even when Naruto wasn't in Konoha, you could feel him. Feel his devotion to us all, his will that we prosper and be happy. And when he came home, that feeling multiplied ten fold. It was easy to overlook his loud voice, his too boisterous laugh, his oftimes childish behavior because he loved us all so much. It was easy to laugh away his silly pranks and bawdy tales because he lit our lives so brightly. So brightly…" She trailed away with a whisper, and for a moment a frown wrinkled her smooth brow before vanishing, and she smiled once more.

"Even so, it was no more brighter than his smile when Tsunade-sama announced that he was next in line to succeed her, and the council agreed! He was so happy, as were we all. At long last, he was noticed, he was admired, he was _loved! _His dreams were coming true. The only thing left was to bring you home, where you belonged. And he was filled with greater zest to do just that. To have his most precious person beside him, to revel in the culmination of his dreams, his hopes. To help you achieve your dreams, and then have you with him when he achieved his. So happy, so filled with hope, with light and laughter."

Sakura looked at him with a vengeance then, her face filled with anger.

"_And you took that all away!" _Her eyes burned with righteous wrath, her slender form trembled with barely leashed rage. 

She took a daunting step forward and Sasuke couldn't help but step back in instinctive protection. He was barely aware of his minions tensing, fingers at the ready to protect him if need be.

"You took all that away from us all, from Konoha, who was enjoying his light, basking in his reflected glow of happiness. You took it all away from us. And from him." She bared her teeth, ignoring the weapons appearing in the hands of the Sound Ninja's that guarded their treacherous Otokage.

"Do you even have the slightest idea of what you have done, Uchiha?" Then Sakura shivered, and shrank slightly, head drooping. "Do you have any idea at all? I know you don't care about Konoha. You never have. I know you don't care that you have deprived us all of the Light of Konoha. But do you realize what you have done to Naruto? Do you even care about that?"

Tears once more filled her eyes, and she stepped back, staring at him in something akin to horror. "He loved you… _so much! _Did you know that? And I'm not just talking about a friend, or even a brother. He told me, not six months before you stole him from us, how much he loved you. How he dreamed of you at night. At first he was confused. You were his friend, his rival. All his aims were bent towards bringing you home. How could he have such vivid, such intimate dreams about you?" She smiled gently, wistfully, a single tear leaking down her cheek as once more her eyes were lost in the past. "I had to tell him what it all meant. He thought he was getting sick, thinking of you that way. God, how he loved you. And even though I looked upon him by now like that of a sister, I couldn't help but feel a faint jealousy towards you. Oh, to be loved so passionately, so purely, with such utter devotion and loyalty. It made me realize, then and there, that what I'd felt for you was nothing but a silly school girl crush. But I still loved you enough to want you to come home, and see what was waiting for you. Find the love that could have redeemed your stupid pathetic life."

Sakura wrung her hands piteously, head tilting back as she swallowed thickly, crying in earnest now. Then she lowered her head and glared balefully at him through her tears. "Do you know what he meant to do for you when he finally brought you home? He wasn't going to tell you how he felt, oh no. He never felt good enough for the likes of you. He was the demon carrier after all, and you were the prince of Konoha. No, he was going to be by your side, for the rest of your life, support you, protect you, and make sure you became the happiest man alive. He took what he had saved and completely restored the Uchiha compounds, so that when you came home, you would have an abode worthy of you. He hunted down all things Uchihan that had been sold for whatever reason by your father. He brought it all back. For you. Then he began to research the most beautiful women, all strong and true and regal as he thought you were. He was trying to find you a fitting mate. Someone you could love and be happy with as you restored your clan. Someone to make the Uchihan heritage proud."

Sakura closed her eyes once more, now barely able to speak through her grief. "He was going to stand there, and give you to someone else, so you could be happy, so you could finish reaching your dreams. He was going to smile at you though his heartache as you married some lofty woman worthy of you, and watch you make lots of babies. He loved you so much, and was willing to stand aside so you could be all you could be. So you could be happy. He was going to break his own heart. _For you."_

She drew in a shuddering breath and tried to regain her composure. "And look how you have betrayed him. Look at what you have done to his innocence, his bravery, his loyalty, his sacrifice for you. Because he loved so much, he couldn't conceive of anything except you gaining the happiness he was willing to give up for you. This is what you do to repay him." 

Sakura choked, and swallowed. "And I will hate you for eternity for it."

She stood there a moment, trembling, agonized. And when he said nothing, when his face didn't even change for a second. She turned away. "You are less than the dirt below his feet." 

And walked away, leaving Sasuke stunned and unable to respond.


	11. Chapter 11

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 11

For a moment, Naruto was frozen in his tracks, staring at that young, tantalizingly familiar face that was looking into his own with such heartbroken determination.

"Naruto-niisan?" Konohamaru stammered, unable to believe he was so close to his own most precious person at long last. 

A vague thought flickered through the blonde's mind like quicksilver. _He's grown so tall. _And then he blinked, and that door slammed shut inside once more, closing off a glimpse of the summer bright happiness of yore.

No, he could not linger here. Not here, not with this… person. His master would not be pleased if he were to find out. No. Sunshine was not permitted in his life, even the dim recollection of the past. He would be punished.

He gave Konohamaru a faint bemused smile, and stepped silently around him.

Konohamaru swallowed back a bitter surge of disappointment, but was not deterred. No, he'd been prepared to expect such a reaction. And though it was his aim to break through the veneer of obedience Naruto wore like a cloak, he had to be cautious. There was no way he was going to be the cause of any more suffering for the one person the boy loved with all his might and main.

He knew that Naruto was not in any danger from Kabuto… Gaara and Hinata would see to it that the vilest creature on the face of the planet would never hurt Naruto again. And Sakura was likewise with the Otokage, so that for a few precious moments, Konohamaru could try and coax the vague blonde into a vitally important conversation. Konohamaru would do what he could to shine a ray of hope into a life that had been so devoid of any light for so long.

"Tsunade-sama misses you," he spoke up in a wavering voice.

For a moment, that door so deep in Naruto's psyche was wide open again, blazing with warmth and the memory of a beautiful if artificially youthful face sprang into his mind. Burgundy eyes looked into his heart for a moment, and Naruto thought he would weep. _Baa-chan! _

He stilled in his tracks to struggle with that treacherous door.

"Jiraiya-sensei has told me so many stories of your travels together," Konohamaru went on, voice strengthening to see Naruto still once more, even if his back was to the boy now. "Konoha misses you. We want you to come home."

_Ero-sennin… home… ! _Naruto shivered.

"They put your name on the memorial stone, you know. When they thought you were dead. They inscribed you as a hero. The council even went so far as to intall an eternal flame. To commemorate the death of the Light of Konoha. You wouldn't believe who came to honor you. Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami came. They missed you so much. Ranmaru and Karashi came too. Unfortunately, Karashi's grandmother died a couple of years before. Sumaru was there, and so was Hokuta. They got married less than a year later, and they named their firstborn son after you. Shibuki was there and he inscribed the Waterfall symbol by your name, as an honorary member. Lady Yuki came too. She cried so hard. Everyone was there. Everyone was crying. They miss you so much."

When Naruto still did not move, Konohamaru skipped forward to round the stricken blonde, and look earnestly into his face. "But I never believed that you were dead. Not you. I always hoped. I've been waiting. We've all been waiting. We've come to take you home." This last was whispered softly, lest unfriendly ears overhear. 

"Stop," Naruto said in a strangled voice. "No more."

"Didn't you hear me, Naruto-niisan? You're coming home with us. You will never have to come back here again. You can come home, and heal. We are all waiting for you."

Tears sparkled in those hopeless blue eyes, and Konohamaru's heart clenched. "Why are you doing this to me?" Naruto whispered, smote to his core.

"Because I will save you! We will save you. You will come home, and everything will be as it was. You'll see!" Konohamaru's youthful ignorance couldn't conceive of anything else. Naruto had to come home and laugh and smile as he used to. "Come home! You have to come home and live and love and be our light again. But you wont be alone, because now there were so many others willing to shine for you. Let us be your light too!" 

Suddenly, Naruto's spirit, so long vanquished, surged to the fore. Eyes blazed with passion and rage, and his whole form trembled from head to foot. Then the light went out like a snuffed candle, and Naruto smiled sadly, reaching out to lightly touch his young friend's cheek one last time.

"Konohamaru, you don't understand. It's impossible. There's nothing left for me. Not in Konoha, and not here. I'm… not who I used to be. Go back to Konoha. Forget about me. Or if you must, go to the memorial stone, and mourn for the Naruto you knew and loved, because that man died a long time ago."

And before he let this bewitching morsel of his past tempt him any further, Naruto ran down the hall as if all the hounds of hell were after him, leaving a young boy standing there forlornly, with tears in his grieving eyes. 

"You're wrong, Naruto-niisan," Konohamaru vowed softly. "I will save you. I will be your light."

Greviously disturbed in spirit, Sasuke made straight for his chambers, forgetting the duties he'd been bent on before Sakura's disastrous interruption. Right now, the Uchiha was stumbling on unsteady ground. Everything he'd believed in was threatened. Everything he'd done to date… could he have been so wrong? 

But no. He was Uchiha Sasuke. He was a genius. He was strong, and true. He could not have done something so… wrong. Though he'd stolen Naruto upon an whim, the entire journey back to Sound had been fraught with deep thought. He'd planned everything so carefully since he'd laid his hand upon Naruto's arm to perform the transportation jutsu. He'd been so careful, both before they arrived at their destination, and throughout his actions afterwards. No. He'd thought everything out. Sakura was being a bitch, trying to undermine his determination. Trying to make Sasuke out to be the villain while practically canonizing Naruto. 

Che!

Naruto had brought this all upon himself. Naruto had made the decision that fateful day to turn away Sasuke's advances. Naruto had denied _him!_

As soon as he gained the sanctuary of his rooms, he closed the bedroom door and leaned against it, almost panting in his mental turmoil. Thus it took him almost a full second to realize he wasn't alone.

Naruto lay curled up on the bed they shared every night, and he was crying. Weeping soft choking sobs of hopelessness, of grief and pain.

For a moment, Sasuke couldn't move. The only time Naruto ever cried now was when he was being physically abused. The digs and slurs Sasuke and Kabuto heaped on his head never brought even so much as a flicker of reaction for years now. No, the only time Naruto cried was when body, heart and soul were hurting so badly he couldn't hold it in anymore.

And yet, Sasuke could see no injuries on the small and voluptuous body that he hadn't put there himself. There was no fresh scents of blood or sex, only the faint tang of salve DeKrisso used on the younger man whenever he managed to save Naruto from Kabuto, as he did yesterday. So why was Naruto crying now?

Sasuke continued to lean against the door and observe his slave. For a moment he wondered if Naruto ever cried so brokenly and he just hadn't known. 

But no… Naruto wasn't one to linger when there was something to do. Though so many things were forbidden to the slave, he'd found things that weren't, and had always kept himself busy when he was not needed by his master. 

There was DeKrisso, who'd been a slave for so long that no one could remember who'd originally enslaved him; he'd been passed from master to mistress and back again so many times, it was as if he'd been born a slave. Hell, for all Sasuke knew, he had been. If anyone knew about the ancient wizened old man, it would be Naruto. The blonde had always been considerate of the old slave, even in the early days when he was hurting so badly himself.

And there were Naruto's other… charities. The few times that the blonde slave had exerted the undeniable power that being the de facto consort of the Otokage possessed.

There were no orphans in Sound. Because, as Sasuke had been told by his girls, Naruto had claimed it takes a village to raise a child, and so had ensured that those unfortunate children that had no parents, no succor from the harshness of life, were well cared for here. He'd seen his dobe doling out fresh food from the kitchens to the street urchins himself. Of course, the blonde had been aided and abetted by the domestic staff in all his endeavors. Naruto was even more beloved by all in sundry in Sound than he had been in Konoha. The great hall in the old wing had been refitted to house dozens of beds so those young hands and tired bodies would have somewhere warm and snug to sleep. And he'd found the most sympathetic slaves and even a couple of nobles to pass through frequently and make sure each and every one of those lonely children had enough to eat, had things to play with, and people to love them. There was never any shortages of orphans in the surrounding countryside. Times were dangerous, and people died, leaving loved ones behind, often children. The faces in those beds changed frequently, as rescued children found homes and families to love them as they had been denied.

Sasuke thought of this now, and one hand rose to clench his own shirt. Naruto had provided for the children so that they didn't have to experience the childhood the blonde had. Naruto couldn't bear to see hopeless young eyes and scrawny undernourished bodies like his own had been. Privately, Sasuke was convinced that was the reason Naruto had never really had much of a growth spurt… he'd been abused and neglected since the cradle, and his body showed it. Likewise, the blonde had made sure the children had the toys he'd been denied, the books and puzzles and games he'd never had the chance to play with… _and was still denied._

And the doubt began gnawing at Sasuke's mind once more. Did Naruto really deserve what his best friend and most precious person had given him? Sure, the blonde had rejected his advances that first day at Sound, but did that justify the years of torment and pain he'd been allotted? Look at how good the dobe had always been; how concerned for the welfare of others, the happiness of others. He was generosity personified, kind and gentle when he was allowed to be, and strong and forceful and deadly when required. Yes, Naruto had been a person worthy of admiration and respect. When would Sasuke finally be done punishing him for not wanting the Uchiha as much as Sasuke had wanted him?


	12. Chapter 12

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 12

Warning… Graphic content, Non con.

_He loved you… so much!_

Sakura's words rose up to choke Sasuke, still glued with his back to the door, and an unaware blonde weeping softly before him.

_Oh, to be loved so passionately, so purely, with such utter devotion and loyalty._

Sasuke swallowed dryly.

_He loved you so much, and was willing to stand aside so you could be all you could be. So you could be happy. He was going to break his own heart. For you._

Suddenly, the scene before him wavered into that terrible day where everything began to go so wrong…

_Sasuke was sitting on the edge of his great bed, watching the yet as unawakened Naruto laying there, already dressed in clothes Sasuke had quickly readied for him, proudly emblazoned with the Uchiha fan, the slim circlet around his neck a precaution. Naruto loved Konoha, planned to be the next Hokage. He would not take kindly to Sasuke bringing him here, to Sound, to be at his side, as his consort, his lover, his mate. No. But soon Sasuke would charm his dobe, and Naruto would agree to stay and love him back. The chakra blocker was only a precaution. Naruto was so unpredictable at times, and so volatile. _

_Sasuke shivered in anticipation. He couldn't wait until he could taste and savor all that stamina, all that passion himself. Oh, yes, it was all worth waiting for. Naruto was worth waiting for. _

_Sasuke had put himself through so much to get to where he was right now. He'd betrayed his home, almost killed the only one he would ever love, had given himself body and soul to the vile Orochimaru. But if there was one thing the Snake Sannin had taught him, it was pleasure. And so he would share that knowledge with his blonde dobe. He would teach Naruto everything he would need to know about bedplay._

_Itachi was dead, and so was Orochimaru, and though Sasuke had refused in the beginning, his blonde was at his side when it happened, and as he stood there in the aftermath, and looked into the face of his most precious person, he realized he'd been a fool. This is where Naruto belonged; beside him, always. And so, he'd taken what he wanted. He'd achieved almost all his goals, he deserved now to have and to hold anything and everything that he'd been denied, whether by circumstance or his own will. He wanted Naruto. He deserved Naruto. He would have Naruto. As for his clan, there were always surrogate mothers. He need not even bed any of them to achieve a child. As if he would lie with anyone but Naruto…_

_Naruto began to stir groggily, awakening slowly from his chakra and drug induced deep slumber. Sasuke realized he was so tense with anticipation that his nails had dug painful crescents into his palms. He took a deep breath, and unknotted his hands, smoothing them over his pants. It was time. Naruto was waking. He was here. He was his. Now, Sasuke's life could finally begin._

_Cerulean blue eyes blinked slowly open, vague and unfocused. Sasuke leaned over him eagerly, smiling uncharacteristically in his excitement. Yes! It was time._

_Naruto blinked twice, looked around bemusedly, then locked those lovely eyes onto the ebony orbs so close._

"_S…Sasuke?" The blonde licked dry lips, and Sasuke almost whimpered. Soon… soon… all would be his…_

"_Naruto," Sasuke responded, his voice unintentionally husky. "Welcome home…"_

"_Home?" Naruto asked, still drowsy and warm and soft, and so heavenly beautiful to Sasuke's eyes. The Uchiha couldn't help himself. He couldn't wait any longer. He'd waited too long already. He took the sleepy blond into his arms, and melded their lips together._

_Naruto gave a soft squeak of surprise and then literally melted into his embrace. Sasuke's tongue had gently demanded entrance and had instantly been admitted. And Sasuke knew he was lost. Naruto was here! They were together, at last. And god, the taste of his blonde, the warmth of his body, the feel of Naruto's hands sliding up his back to bury themselves in his dark hair. God.. yes.._

_It had been delicious, that first kiss. It had been delectable, that quivering strong body below his, as Sasuke pressed himself closer to the younger boy. He ground himself against Naruto's thigh, moaning softly into a kiss that would never end, a passion that would never play out, a heart that would never be closed to him. _

_And Naruto's response was all that he could have wished for, all that he'd ever dreamed of, and more. He was eager, pliant, and so responsive to Sasuke's every touch, every caress, every soft suck and nibble and lick. Fuck… Sasuke was going to come if this didn't stop, come in his pants like an inexperienced school boy. _

_But he didn't care. Naruto was here, in his arms, responding to his advances. _

_Then the unthinkable happened. _

_Naruto began to struggle. _

"_Stop Teme!" Was the blonde's strangled cry as he thrust the older boy off his body, and Sasuke had reeled back, stunned by the interrupted passion and shocked by Naruto's sudden rejection._

_Naruto raised a hand and pressed it to trembling, kiss swollen lips. "What the hell do you think you're doing, bastard?" Something in Naruto's eyes made Sasuke ache; blue eyes filled with grief and pain, and most of all, denial._

_No._

_Not like this._

_It wasn't supposed to happen like this._

_Naruto was his! He'd earned his blonde dobe. How dare Naruto reject him? How dare he thrust away what Sasuke wanted, what Sasuke deserved? How dare he?_

_Sasuke straightened slowly, eyes growing cold. _

"_Is that the way you want it to be, Dobe? Then so be it."_

_And then Sasuke had been once more upon Naruto, tearing off the clothes he'd so lovingly selected in a flash._

_Of course, the stupid moron fought back, but with every struggle, every burst of energy and chakra required for such effort was sucked into the collar. The harder the blonde fought the more quickly he weakened._

_It took less than two minutes for the dobe to be naked and screaming in pain and confusion as Sasuke took him violently, ignoring the little pot of oil on the nightstand, prepared just for Naruto's ease and comfort._

_  
He felt the blonde tear, felt the blood rising hot and sticky to lubricate this terrible act. But Sasuke didn't care. Naruto was his, to use as he saw fit. This is what Naruto chose, so this would be what Naruto received. _

_It took only a few minutes for Sasuke to come, and he smiled mirthlessly as he rose from the shattered blonde's body, picking up the remnants of the clothes Naruto had just been wearing to wipe the blood and semen from his crotch. _

_Naruto still lay there, quiet and broken as he stared up with dull blue eyes at the person that had done this to him, and said only one thing._

"_Why?"_

The present swam into focus through crystal lenses of tears, and once more Sasuke beheld Naruto in the here and now.

_He was going to break his own heart. For you._

Only now did Sasuke understand why Naruto had pushed him away that fateful day; why Naruto's eyes had been so full of grief. He'd planned for Sasuke to love some stupid female, make lots of little Uchihas, and reach his goals. Naruto had wanted Sasuke to be happy, and knew he couldn't achieve his last goal as the demon carrier's lover. 

_He was going to break his own heart. For you._

Naruto had wanted him as badly as he had the blonde. The dobe's reactions in the first few moments of lovemaking had made that abundant. But for Sasuke's own good, it couldn't go on, no matter how much Naruto had wanted it to. No, it had to end, right then, right there, before things got too out of hand. Sasuke must find the perfect mate, settle down, and revive the Uchiha clan.

And Naruto couldn't give him any of that.

Now Sasuke laughed silently, mirthlessly. It was all so… so… Naruto! Denying himself so that others could gain. Crashing to ground amid the ruins of his own dreams so that others could fly. It had always been Naruto's way.

In retrospect, the blonde was so giving, that if he hadn't had grander plans for the Uchiha, he'd have given himself to him, just to make Sasuke happy, even if he hadn't felt anything for the raven. It was Naruto's way. Give, no matter what. Make people happy, no matter the cost to himself. 

_He was going to break his own heart. For you._

Oh god, what had he done?

"Naruto…"


	13. Chapter 13

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 13

"Naruto…"

The whisper was dark, muted, strangled by regret, and the blonde on the bed did not hear it. Naruto just gave a quivering sniffle, wiped his eyes endearing with the back of one hand, and gave a final hiccup. 

Something in Sasuke warmed, burst like biting into the hot liquid center of a fruit filled pastry; tart and tangy, yet over all incredibly sweet. With the silence of years, he padded over to the bed, slowly shedding his outer kage robes, and loosening the ties on his inner vestments.

He loomed over the bed, and noticed that his blonde had half cried himself to sleep. Tearstained cheeks lay below dew laden lashes, the tip of that pert and perfect nose as red as a cherry. The blonde gave a long sigh, and huddled deeper into the masses of pillows surrounding him.

Sasuke stood there for a few more minutes, watching every muscle in Naruto's body slowly relax, heard the still slightly erratic breathing smooth into deep and slow inhalations, watched that luscious body sink even deeper into the quilts and pillows.

The vision before him blurred, wavered, then was lost behind crystal lenses. Sasuke blinked, and shook his head, reaching up to wipe the unexpected tears away. He reached out with a trembling hand, then paused immediately when Naruto stirred slightly, and then yawned softly. Slowly drawing his hand back, he stood beside the bed frozen, and waited until the blonde had settled back down into slumber once more.

Wistfully, he sat so very lightly on the edge of his bed. Less than an hour before, he would have stormed over, shaken the blonde rudely awake, and than received smugly whatever it was that he would have demanded from his slave. He wouldn't have cared why Naruto was crying, why he was so tired in the middle of the day, why he wasn't doing something, anything, to while away the hours and days and months and years of his thwarted life and denied dreams.

And Naruto would have awakened, likely with just the tiniest gasp, well used to such ill treatment, and looked at him with dead and empty eyes, and served him with all the emotion and vitality of a robot.

Naruto!

That bright and vivid creature, filled with laughter and determination, hopes and dreams, with a heart bigger than all of fire country. He had no doubt that all Sakura had said was true. It was so very appropriate to how Naruto operated. And that last day of the blonde's freedom, when he'd stood next to the raven and begged him so earnestly to come home, those blue eyes had been filled with such excitement, such devotion despite the exhaustion he'd felt. Filled with so much… _love…_

And now he was like this; cold and empty, dark and hopeless. All his dreams and fancies as dead as Sasuke's own forebears. Those glowing eyes darkened forever. That blindingly bright beautiful smile, overcome by chronic sorrow and degradation. That strong and vibrant body melted away into the weak and pillowy muscles of a high priced paramour. All that forceful and cheerful personality lost beneath a crushing load despair and sorrow. And all that potential love and passion had been turned into the distant and passionless actions of a hardened street prostitute.

And Sasuke had done it all!

And for what? Because Naruto had dared refuse his advances? Because he felt the blonde had belonged to him and was his to use as he saw fit? He had destroyed what had been generous and beautiful and so very, very loving, out of sheer spiteful selfishness. Because of a single, brief, moment of misguided clarity in a sea of passion.

Sasuke's head bowed, his shoulders shook slightly, one hand rising to cover his eyes. And his spirit broke as surely as Naruto's had.

Uchiha's didn't cry; they didn't look back on their mistakes but stride arrogantly forward to meet their princely destinies.

But Sasuke didn't care. He wept, and was haunted and tormented by his oh so many mistakes. And he knew he wasn't at all princely, at all brightly destined. He was all that Hinata had said he was. He was a petty tyrant, and a slaver. And he had single handedly destroyed the only precious thing he'd ever wanted. 

Oh, god…

"Master?" The soft and worried voice hit him like a slap in the face. 

He hadn't even realized that Naruto had awakened, had moved to sit on his haunches before him, one hand anxiously stroking the coverlet beside the Uchiha's knee, because he wasn't allowed to touch his master with impunity.

He'd forbidden Naruto to touch him of his own will, yet had begun to punish him for not responding positively to him. He'd repeated and brutally raped the young man before him, beaten him, threatened him, demeaned him and broken him. And then began to resent him for not still being the Naruto he loved and needed so much, and had begun the cycle of abuse and torment anew.

"D…dobe…" Sasuke sobbed. 

But no. That wasn't right. He'd denied this boy of everything, even his own name. 

"Naruto…" And turned and buried his tear stained face into the silken warmth of the Naruto's neck. And was selfishly thankful that his beautiful blonde had the grace and compassion to enfold him in his arms, and comfort his horrible, monstrous self. Sasuke wept as he hadn't since his family was so brutally slain, and emptied himself out upon the shoulder of someone he'd been as evil to as his brother had to him.

But every ocean has a limit, and every tear can be spent, and silence descended on the opulent bedchambers of the Otokage of Sound, and still Sasuke did not move, nor did Naruto.

In truth, Naruto was confused and bewildered. As the nebulous consort and personal bed slave to this man before him, it was part of his job to succor and comfort Sasuke, but he'd never been required to provide such a service before. But he always obeyed, no matter what. And deep down inside, there was a tiny spark of pain. Sasuke was suffering, and even after everything, knowing that hurt Naruto.

The hands clenched so tightly in the thick fabric of Naruto's robe loosened, and those pale and strong hands began to lightly caress his back, and tangle in his hair. Sasuke's face came up to nuzzle Naruto's own. And warm lips caught his in a lingering kiss.

And that tiny spark was lost in the weariness of knowing he was required to serve once more. Naruto could only hope it didn't end as painfully as it had yesterday. He willed himself to respond, to react, to feign the passion necessary for this act once again.

"Don't…"

Naruto froze at his master's whispered word, for just the briefest moment, and like the day before, wondered frantically what he'd done wrong. He braced himself for a repeat of yesterday, heart pounding in fear.

Sasuke saw that tiniest of flinches, the eyes close for a moment in fortification. He watched Naruto prepare himself to be hurt and humiliated once more, and discovered that even the mightiest of oceans had unexpected reserves.

But no, he wasn't going to cry like a whiney baby anymore, and he wasn't going to keep tearing asunder something so wonderful. And no, he wasn't going to ever again demand to be pleasured, then punish his lover for being who and what Sasuke had forced him to be.

Never again.

It was Naruto's turn to be loved, to be cherished, to be lost in ecstasy. Somehow, he would mend what he had broken, and he would begin… right now.


	14. Chapter 14

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 14

Naruto reclined back on the bed under his master's command feeling indescribably weary. The Uchiha was being very gentle at the moment, but soon that would all change, and not for the better. But he was just too tired and heartsick to even really care. Grateful he didn't have to act as if he wanted any of this, he stared at the pristine ceiling and waited for the hell to begin once more.

Warm and calloused hands slid up his bare legs, slowly pushing Naruto's disheveled robe farther open with every inch gained. The touch was light enough to almost tickle, and the smooth muscles quivered with every languid pass. The belt came completely undone, and in but a moment, the robe was wide open, displaying all of the blonde to his master's perusal. 

"Close your eyes, beautiful," Sasuke whispered, noticing that Naruto was utterly quiescent below him, unaroused. So was the Uchiha at the moment, but the raven knew that would quickly change. No one had ever excited him as quickly as his blonde did. But Sasuke was overly skilled in bedplay, and he would use every trick he'd ever learned to change his dobe's sexual passivity.

Naruto gave him a quick, darting look of shock at the unheard of endearment, but obediently closed his eyes and tried to relax. It was harder now than before, just because of that sweet word. What new mischief was his master up to now, and how badly would it affect him?

Sasuke sensed his lover's unease and leaned over him, nuzzling that warm velvety cheek with his lips, allowing his body to brush whisper soft against the other's.

Naruto felt the heat of his master's body, the lightest of touches that gave him an unpleasant jolt of awareness. A warm mouth settled on his, kissing lightly, briefly, teasing like the wings of a butterfly. A moment later, a curious tongue tip probed the blonde's lips, and Naruto, rather bemused at this point by the Uchiha's continued tenderness, obediently opened his mouth, stiffening slightly at the signal that wholesale pillaging was about to begin.

The ravaging never came. The touches stayed soft, sensual, teasing. The kisses deepened slowly, from a gentle rubbing of lip upon lip, to a flirtatious battle with the smaller man's tongue. Naruto's closed lashes flickered in confusion. Sasuke had always taken a bold and dominating approach, but now the man was teasing him, coaxing an unwilling response from him. The kisses became hotter, wetter, more intense, and Naruto began to respond despite himself.

The lips never left his, and the blonde heard and felt the rustle of sliding cloth, Sasuke's garments slipping from the body above him. 

A naked knee gently pressed his legs farther apart, and a warm and firm weight settled upon his body. The kisses continued while a hand moved up the inside of one lightly tanned leg, and then gripped that sensitive junction of groin and thigh firmly.

Naruto tensed, but the pressure stayed solid without pain, the knife edge of his master's hand stroking lightly against the flesh of his unaroused masculinity. He felt a buzzing begin deep in his belly, and wondered what it portended. Occasionally Naruto had come under Sasuke's influence before, his body betraying him and the orgasm being unwelcome and painful. But now warmth began to flush his body as Sasuke's mouth began to wander. Licking the point of his chin, tracing the angle of his jaw, skittering down the vulnerable column of his throat. 

Sasuke felt the younger man quiver slightly, and was encouraged. He locked his mouth on the sensitive junction of throat and collar, and began to suck firmly. Fingers lightly tickled Naruto's penis, then skated across the gentle swell of his belly to sneak up his chest. 

Those treacherous fingers found two warm and soft peaks, the pads of his master's thumbs rubbing firmly and unexpectedly over them, back and forth, in time to the forceful suckling on his throat. A bolt of sensation streaked through Naruto's body, and a shocked mewl escaped his lips before he could censor it.

Before Naruto could react and close his emotions off to Sasuke, the kissing continued, the hands wandered erotically, and the blonde bit back another startled sound. A haze rose in his mind, flickering with unexpected flashes. 

Fingers tingled, stroked, and tantalized. The sinful mouth wandered lower, and latched onto one of his stiffening nipples. Sasuke's hips lowered, and a hard and hot member raked across a groin that Naruto hadn't even realized was responding. The contact of hard flesh against hard flesh sent another jolt through the blonde's body, and his blue eyes flashed open with shock, sparks of white in his vision.

"M..master.. what…"

"Shhhh…" Sasuke soothed in a husky whisper that affected Naruto like never before. "Let me love you." Teeth nipped at the point where his seal lay, unseen and dormant for seven years, a tongue drilled slowly into his navel.

The novel sensations, never before felt and barely even dreamed of, began to undermine Naruto's reserve. He began to pant softly, quivering with unexpected pleasure.

His master slipped lower, that maddening hard heat leaving what felt like a white hot furrow in Naruto's inner thigh, and lower. He was bewildered, confused. He had expected pain, but it had never come, only pleasure. A dim thought flickered in his mind that this would only make his master's cruelty that much harder to bear, and then he could think no more.

There was a soft tug of teeth on the silken floss between his thighs, and then a hot kiss to the swollen underside of his shaft. A broad flat lick brought his master's lips to the reddened tip of Naruto's erection, where a shining bead of dew was waiting.

A helpless cry of pleasure was wrenched from the blonde's throat as a blindingly hot and maddeningly wet sheath suddenly encased his cock. He arched up, unable to resist, and met only more heat, more wetness, more pressure encasing him with exquisite pleasure. And at that point, Naruto was lost.

He writhed, he shook, and he moaned, fingers tangling thoughtlessly deep into the dark hair moving slowly and insanely between his legs. Fingers stroked his tightened scrotum so lightly he thought he might scream. The mouth and hands and body on his continued to move, to excite, to tease and bewitch him and he could not escape the mindbending sensations.

Naruto melted into the ensorceling heat and pleasure that overcame him. He couldn't think, couldn't speak, and it grew greater with every passing moment. He began to reach for something he really couldn't understand anymore, and groaned when it was withheld from him again and again. 

Cool and wet fingers teased the tightly crinkled entrance to his body, darting, light caresses, teasing probes, and the hot sucking on his penis just wouldn't stop! Naruto didn't have time to be afraid, or to dread what he would have known was coming if he'd been in his right mind.

But he wasn't. He was lost in sensation, strayed into the land of pleasure, and that knowing finger that tunneled deeper and deeper and unerringly found that spot in him that had forced bitter climaxes on him before. But the touch now was slow, and lingering, rubbing maddeningly to the point that the blonde began to rock, and growl and gasp.

"P…please… please… master…" Blunt nails dug fiercely into the warm flesh of Sasuke's back, slim and sleek legs locked around his waist to better thrust up against the pleasure so intense it made him feel faint.

The mouth departed abruptly, but Naruto didn't have time to mourn, to miss it, because a hard slick hand took over, pumping his over sensitized member almost roughly, and he bucked frantically, trying to capture more of that pressure, that pleasure, that delicious friction.

"Yes, Naruto," Sasuke growled softly, rising up and pushing firmly against the blonde's body.

Naruto felt the hard wet tip of his master's penis against him, and instead of shying away, he welcomed it. Despite his miserable past, he instinctively knew this was what he was waiting for, what he needed, what he had to have.

Sasuke pushed deep, aided by excessive amounts of oil and a well used passage. He slid into the hilt, deliberately angling himself so that the meaty head of his cock rubbed almost brutally over his blonde's prostrate.

A high thin wail exploded from Naruto's mouth. He arched helplessly, legs dropping to the bed so that his heels could dig into the giving surface of the mattress and force his body higher, impaling himself on that deliciously hard spike that speared his very soul. His back bent into an impossible arch.

"Slow d… down, koi," Sasuke stammered, almost overcome himself. Naruto was so damn responsive now! The sheath of his dobe's core rippled and pulsed around him, and Naruto's writhing wasn't helping at all. The blonde's whiskered cheeks were flushed with arousal, heat, desire. For the first time his beautiful blond matched him in ardor. And the pleasure was so much greater than anything he'd every felt, or even imagined.

Sasuke froze at that impossible depth, trying to regain control of the moment, to soothe his overheated, over stimulated lover. But it was so damn hard! 

Naruto's entire body glowed in a blush of excitement, his eyes were half open, the brilliant blue glazed over with passion, burning with arousal. Those delectable lips were open, a faint hint of even white teeth, as the blonde lost control. He cried, he moaned, he gasped and mewled and begged for more. He twisted in Sasuke's arms, bucked and thrust against his lover's body. The heat and crushing pressure of that tight and throbbing channel sucked him deeper, harder. 

To see his blonde so lost in excruciating pleasure and complete abandon was Sasuke's undoing. Naruto was too close, too excited, and could not be stopped. Sasuke could feel it. And he was taking Sasuke right along with him. 

The raven's control snapped as well, and he began to thrust; hard and deep and so very, very satisfying to both of them. With the last vestiges of coherency, Sasuke made sure that each and every one of them slid firmly over the younger man's most sensitive spot, drawing a near scream from Naruto every time. Sasuke's hand began to move erratically over the blonde's throbbing organ, which twitched and jerked violently as the smaller man came abruptly with a scream that shook with windows.

"N…Naruto!" Sasuke watched his lover come wildly, a burning wet rush over his fingers, and he followed immediately.

They froze together, hot and wet and unbearably sensitive, feeling every throb and pulse and tick of each other bodies, a hurricane of breath and heartbeat.

And then they collapsed in a tangle of limbs, sweaty, sticky, exhausted, and utterly spent.


	15. Chapter 15

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 15

In the aftermath of such pleasure, Sasuke slowly lifted his head and stared down in astonishment at what he held. He hadn't known, had no idea as to the magnitude of passion that could have been between them all along. And seeing Naruto's moist flushed face, blue eyes half closed in exhaustion, pliant and pleased, body warm and limp and tucked securely against the raven's, Sasuke felt the overpowering urge to weep anew.

It could have been like this all along, if Sasuke hadn't acted like a spoiled child, petulant at a believed rejection. Willful and arrogant, he'd never bothered to try and find the source of unease in his partner, and so had begun the long and terrible descent of Naruto's destruction.

He watched Naruto slowly succumb to sleep, a languid and drowsy process, and wistfully wondered how things could have been between them, if only he'd stopped and reflected that terrible day seven years ago. Instead, he'd shattered and reformed the blonde to fit his own selfish agenda, without regard to what he was doing. And now everything was terribly, horribly, _wrong._

He tenderly stroked the damp tendrils of his sleeping blonde's hair, and blinked the tears away. Now his will and arrogance must stand him in good stead. He was Uchiha Sasuke, and he could achieve anything if he put his mind to it. And now his mind was bent on the healing and succor of said blonde. He would show him all the love and tenderness and kindness Naruto had always been due, but had never received. Especially from the one that had loved him the most.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," he whispered hoarsely, realizing that it was much too little too late. Words were cheap, and Sasuke's had been worthless for so long now. He would have to let actions speak louder. He would show Naruto, prove to him, how wrong he'd been. He would atone for this terrible crime.

He gently slipped from the sleeping man, and moved silently into the bathroom, damping a cloth quietly. He paused and looked into the mirror, and damned his reflection for a long and weary time. So lost was he in his ruminations, that it jarred him to realize that Naruto was no longer alone.

Suddenly assailed by possessive rage, he turned to the bathroom door, and then stopped.

His girls, his confidants in remorse, were slipping anxiously into the bedroom. They went straight to Naruto's side, and laid down a basket. Numbly he watched what was obviously a long standing habit.

Doa, the elder girl, was busily laying out cloth and bandages and salve while Kia knelt at the head of the bed and compassionately combed her fingers through the blonde's still slightly damp hair.

Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat, his heart pounded, and tears filled his eyes. He leaned back, hands covering his mouth in anguish. He felt so ill he thought he might vomit. Weakly he slid down the wall to sit with his legs splayed out before him, watching with terrible clarity at what this all meant.

_They had come to heal Naruto!_

They had known, with a good servant's sixth sense, that he'd lain with Naruto. And had come expecting the unfortunate slave to be in need of all the things that now lined the bed beside his blonde. They had known, and had come, expecting to find Naruto wounded, bleeding, and in need of comfort and aid. And they had expected that… _because that was the way things had always been._

And this was the last straw of Sasuke's pride. It crumbled, completely and utterly into ruin. Consumed by nausea and silent tears, he was helpless to do anything but listen to surprised whispers as the girls realized that for the very first time since the blonde had come to Sound seven years ago, Sasuke hadn't injured him, hadn't damaged him with his cruel passion. He listened and watched as the girls gently kissed Naruto's forehead, one at a time, and repacked the damning basket and crept away without waking the sleeping man.

He sat on the floor in the bathroom for a very long time, consumed with his agonized thoughts and realizations. Sat there lost within his own damnation. Sat there and cried silently until the soft rustling of the bedsheets finally brought him back to the world of the living.

Naruto woke slowly, drawing in a deep breath, and suddenly realized, he was smiling. Dazedly, he looked around, and saw the bedroom he'd woken in almost every day since he arrived here seven years ago. Hands rose and lightly touched his curved lips, amazed to discover that for the first time that he could remember, he felt really good. Almost happy.

He glanced at the clock on the bedside, and was shocked to see it was mid afternoon. His good mood vanished, and he leapt out of the bed lest his master return and find him lazing about, and take advantage of the bed in the most miserable of ways once more.

He stumbled slightly, feeling a comfortable soreness in his rear. Obviously he'd had sex with his master but he sported no new injuries and…

His master had found him crying from his little talk with Konohamaru; had found him crying and weak and vulnerable.

And his master had… his master had…

Been so very gentle, and pleasingly passionate.

His master had touched him, kissed him, pleasured him. His master had taken him and given him the greatest pleasure he'd ever known. His master had opened the floodgates of his body and had devoured the passion Naruto hadn't even known he'd possessed. His master… Sasuke… Sasuke had been tender and pleasurable, and had wooed an almost holy sexuality from the depths of his heart. And Naruto had loved it. Had loved it and wanted more. Had wanted more and demanded it. And had received it. He'd cried and screamed in his pleasure. Sasuke had… made love to him.

A soft noise caught his suddenly panicked attention. Blue eyes huge and dilated, he turned his head slowly land beheld Sasuke standing naked at the door of the bathroom. Naked from worming his way into the last sanctuary Naruto had from his master, his tormenter. Had wedged his way into the last place that Naruto could call his own. His heart. His tender, vulnerable heart. What sort of mischief and suffering would his cruel master visit upon him now that he'd somehow found the key to the last spot of warmth and solitude left to him?

A cold chill crawled over him.

Sasuke heard the rustling and slowly got up from the floor. Timid like he hadn't been since a very small child, he peeked around the door jamb and watched Naruto slowly stir to life.

Naruto had slowly opened his eyes, and had been smiling gently. Those soft smiles were as rare as fleas on a frog. The only time he saw Naruto smile now was when the blonde didn't realize he was nearby, and had just saved another child, or eased the suffering of another slave.

Naruto had blinked drowsily, one hand lifting to press a finger to his lips. The smile had broadened, and the blonde had stretched luxuriously, sinuous as a fox sleeping in a sun beam. His lover had the look of a well loved paramour; sleepy, sensual, and contentedly sated. Sasuke's heart warmed to know that he was the one that had made his beautiful dobe feel that way.

Then the blonde had given a sharp gasp and leapt up from the bed as if scalded. Naruto winced slightly, eyes widening with surprise, and his feet shifted almost clumsily. Sasuke watched the memory of a few hours ago come rushing over his whiskered face.

Naruto eyes became even bigger and vague, and once more his fingers touched his lips. Then they moved to his neck, skittered across his nipples, glanced over his belly, and then hovered over his quiescent manhood. The path Sasuke's mouth had taken.

Smiling softly himself, Sasuke stepped into the doorway to let Naruto know he was there. He was hopeful and eager to see how his blonde would react now that he remembered the kind of pleasure Sasuke could give him. He had so much he wanted to say, to do with him now. He had so much to atone for, and with this new and gentle sleepy reminiscence in Naruto, it was the perfect time to begin anew.

But even before the blonde noticed him, he'd begun to shiver almost uncontrollably. And when his eyes turned to Sasuke now, they were no longer sated and pleased and happy, but wide with shock and horror. And as they beheld him standing there, both of them bare from their shared pleasure before, Sasuke was stunned to see the greatest fear Naruto had ever evidenced flood those large and expressive eyes.

Fear. No, not just fear, but absolute terror, commingled with an even greater look of heartbreak then had filled them the first day when Sasuke had stupidly forced himself violently and brutally on the blonde.

"Naruto…" the Uchiha began in dismay, moving quickly forward to ease the fright and hopelessness that Sasuke'd hoped would never fill those eyes again.

Shocked, Sasuke watched Naruto stumble back a step, then turn and run around the delicate fluted posts of the great bed, gasping and panting. His eyes were huge and he darted away in such shivering fright. Naruto hadn't tried to flee him in years. Not when such flights always ended in such pain and suffering.

"Naruto," Sasuke begged, advancing slowly on the terrified blonde, "wait, please…"

But the wall was at the blonde's back now, and he had no where to run to. He'd literally backed himself into a corner. Sasuke drew up to him, and reached out.

And Naruto _flinched._

Sasuke's hand glanced over flesh as chilly as a corpse, dotted and ruched with goosebumps, every delicate hair on the blonde's body, those that were left, were standing on end in fright. Naruto gasped again, and flung himself across the bed on his hands and knees and fell hard to the floor on the other side with a cry of pain.

Sasuke leapt after him in concern and dismay. He'd knew it wouldn't be easy; wooing the blonde passionately back into his arms, but he'd never, ever expected this as the outcome for an hour of pleasure.

"M…m…master…" Naruto began to babble as tears bubbled up in his shocked and traumatized eyes, rising up on one hand and both knees, holding the other to his brow where he'd struck it against the hard wooden floor. "P..please… master… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… Please… m… m…aster… pl…ease…"

Sasuke froze, still with one knee on the bed and watched Naruto shiver uncontrollably. He sat down heavily, bewildered and stricken with the fear and begging in his blonde's voice. It made his heart ache and throb and he didn't understand why Naruto was suddenly terrified of him.

"I'll do whatever you want… whatever you want. I'll be good, I promise. Haven't I been good, Master?" Naruto wept softly. "Please, I'll be good. Don't… don't…d…d…don't… hurt me anymore. Please?" Entreatingly, Naruto lifted a badly shaking hand and hesitantly reached up to almost touch his master's knee.

Sasuke lowered his head, swallowing thickly, unable to figure out how to get past this new and unexpected reaction. Naruto was so frightened of him! Obviously, the blonde had feared him and his violent temper probably as long as he'd been in Sound, but to date, he'd only shown him defiance, at first, followed by despair, and then finally by weary acceptance and submission. Never before had Naruto begged him to do anything, not even when in the throes of sexual torture.

Obviously, Naruto was expecting yet another round of pain and humiliation, despite what had occurred between them so recently. Oh, he'd truly broken the beautiful blonde before him now. Broken him completely, utterly, and finally. Sasuke didn't know exactly what it was that finally snapped inside Naruto, or why, but obviously, the gracile blonde had finally reached his limit.

They sat there, the master on the bed, the slave quaking at his feet, until Naruto swallowed rather loudly himself, and began to draw back his quivering hand.

Then Sasuke moved. He grabbed that slender hand and held it tightly, painfully ignoring the choked gasp his quick action brought. He slid to the ground next to the blonde, and likewise disregarded the nervous twitch. Trembling, Sasuke slowly lifted Naruto's hand and kissed it so very tenderly.

"I will never hurt you again, Naruto," Sasuke said thickly, now holding that hand to his cheek. "Never again. Nor will I allow anyone else to hurt you. Never again."

"N…nani?" Naruto breathed softly, confused and still very frightened. His master was confusing him, obviously, trying to get him to let his guard down so that he could inflict even greater harm on him. He'd lived with Sasuke and the man's volatile temper and penchant for violence too long to think anything else.

"Naruto…I…" And to the blonde's fearful surprise, his master's voice was filled with tears. "I… I love you…"


	16. Chapter 16

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 16

Sasuke brought Naruto's hand to his lips once more, pressing them there as he strove to make the blonde understand the magnitude of his emotions with those raw words from the depths of his black heart. Hoped that somehow Naruto would understand that he was sorry. Oh god, so sorry. He struggled to speak those damning words, his apology, his admittance that he'd been so wrong for so long.

Naruto sat frozen there, tears still wet upon his cheeks. Then he stiffened slowly, feeling rage bubbling up inside, hot and furious, and suddenly, he didn't care anymore. What was life anyway, when it was like this? Filled with pain and torment and scorn and hopelessness? How had he stood it for so long? Whatever game his _master _was bent upon, he'd had enough. Let the bastard kill him. Good! Then this horrible life would finally be over, and he could rest.

"You what?"

Sasuke was startled by the sudden venom in Naruto's voice, and didn't resist when the blonde jerked his hand free.

"You _what?_" Naruto repeated, his voice louder, higher and colder. "How dare you say that to me!"

With his head still bent, Sasuke never saw it coming.

Naruto was small, yes; his deprived childhood had seen to that. And yes, Naruto was weak; Sasuke had seen to that. But by the same token, the starvation of his childhood and the malnourishment of his youth ended seven years ago. Since then, Naruto had eaten very well. Though rather dainty, and frequently injured, he was exceptionally healthy. Something else Sasuke had seen to. Most of all, he was still a man, no matter how delicate and lissome he'd become. And he had the power of rage behind him now.

His fist caught Sasuke unerringly on the point of his high cheekbone. The force of that vengeful impact snapped the Uchiha's head back, and slid his whole body two feet across the highly polished and gleaming wood of the floor, and then he fell back and smacked the back of his head against the same, and saw stars.

Naruto… had hit his master, right in the face.

And he didn't care. Flushed with fury, he leapt to his bare feet. Oh, he would go out with glory! Not weak and whining, not writhing under the instruments of Kabuto's torture, and certainly not under the raking nails, biting teeth and tearing cock of the damned Uchiha! He would go out on his feet, fighting like a man, not a slave. And he would die, right here, right now, finally, like a man.

Sasuke shook his head, put a hand to his throbbing cheek, and stared up at the wrathful blonde towering over him. Oh, he was magnificent in his rage, insurmountable in his fury! His blue eyes burned with purpose, literally crackled with life! His face was flushed, turning the creamy ivory to a rosy hue. His lips were parted, flash of even white teeth as he panted in his anger and righteousness.

Despite the ache of his cheekbone, and the tearing pain in his heart, he'd never seen anything more wonderful in his life. Naruto… Naruto! …was so bright and vivid and deliciously _alive!_ From the tips of his naked toes, to the flashing stars of his eyes, to the wild mop of golden hair growing brighter with every righteous breath he took, Naruto was alive!

"Beautiful," Sasuke whispered reverently, seeing the blonde finally, as he was meant to be. Not the cringing fearful victim, not the pale and passive slave, but strong and tall and filled with life like the warrior, the lord he'd always been meant to be. Before Uchiha Sasuke had perverted that in all his vainglorious arrogance.

"Get up, you bastard," Naruto snarled, fists knotting even tighter. "Get to your damned feet and fight me like a man!"

Sasuke didn't move, just stared up at him, the moment of awe passing, and knew that he would take whatever Naruto dished up right now. He would not fight back. He had anything and everything coming to him. And more.

"Get up!" Naruto howled, not to be denied in his final moments. That bastard would finish this, for once and for all. Finish this, and him. And then, finally, he could rest in the comforting oblivion of death. And he longed for that, with every fiber of his being.

When Sasuke still did not move, he flung himself on the raven, releasing seven years of pain and grief and hatred, all the while his ever mounting rage vented in furious screams. The raven fell back, and didn't even lift his hands in defense.

"Get up, you fucking bastard!" There was a crack as Sasuke's nose broke.

"Fight me, you damnable coward!" Blood gushed and spattered as another fist smashed into his mouth.

Kicking, biting, scratching, punching, vengeance poured in a brilliant torrent from the blonde, until finally, he paused, realizing Sasuke wasn't fighting back, wasn't even trying to protect himself.

He found himself straddling a battered and bleeding Uchiha, panting and gasping as his strength and endurance, once so great and enduring, began to wane.

"Why don't you get up?" Naruto growled. Was this that bastard's way of letting him know he still didn't think much of him? Damn him! "Why wont you fight me?"

The blond head slowly lowered and the last of his fury flickered and died out. Was this all that there was? Would this be his lot… forever? Why didn't Sasuke jump up, punch him, hit him, rape him, kill him? Why?

"Why wont you kill me?" He begged softly, struggling to hold back tears.

Sasuke finally closed his eyes, his battered body still not as painful as his aching heart. Naruto wanted him to kill him. Wanted to die so badly he would risk the vaunted Uchiha wrath for the audacity of attacking his master. Tears ran unchecked down the line of his temple into his sweaty, bloody hair.

"Please, Sasuke, kill me. Please." Naruto whispered, ultimately defeated. "Don't you know how much I hate you? I don't want to live another moment with you. Please, kill me."

And Sasuke suddenly understood the powerful desire to die and be done with the horror of the life. And he'd brought these horrors upon himself, and his most precious person. But understanding meant nothing. No matter how keenly, how deservedly Naruto wanted to die, there was no way in heaven or hell that Sasuke could be the instrument. Not on top of everything else he'd done to the most loyal, kind and loving person to ever grace this god forsaken planet.

"Kill me, damn you!" Naruto screamed, drawing his fist back again. He had to die! He just had to! He couldn't live this life, or any other, any more.

But unnoticed by both the despairing men, the door had opened, and two frightened panicked girls darted in, and Doa caught Naruto's hand before he could further harm their precious lord, and further endanger his own beloved life.

The Uchiha's two door guards had finally broken past the chakra locks Sasuke had put upon them before he'd finally touched his blonde in tender passion, not wanting that moment broken for anything. Behind them hobbled in Sasuke's major domo, DeKrisso himself, bent and frail, but still so wise, his face wet with tears as he knew what this portended.

For the crime of assaulting his lord and master, Naruto, sweet and gentle Naruto, would die.

Sobbing and gasping, Doa let go of that bloody fist, caught Naruto around the waist and hauled him off Sasuke, while Kia whimpered and immediately began daubing healing ointments and salves upon her lord's face and body.

Naruto was unceremoniously hauled to his feet by the hair, and Sasuke didn't miss the blessed relief in the blonde's eyes as he looked into the face of his executioner. The guard drew his katana.

Sasuke pushed Kia aside, his face and nose already tingling with the chakra infused cream. Dammit, he didn't want to be healed! He deserved the pain Naruto had unleashed upon him.

"Don't touch him!" Sasuke voice rang out, forbidding and severe. "If you value your life, let him go."

"But my Lord," the man began, fingers loosening in Naruto tangled locks. "He…"

"Enough," Sasuke got shakily to his feet, and tried to shrug off Kia, who was still dotting and smearing cream on his naked bruised body. "He's done nothing wrong. He is not to be punished. Do you understand?" Sasuke's voice was hard and unwavering. He finally pushed Kia away.

"Do you understand? All of you? He is not to be touched. Ever." Sasuke snapped.

"Yes, my Lord," both men responded, bewildered.

"Good. Now get out. All of you."

But when Naruto turned to go, head bowed, Sasuke spoke quietly. "Stay, Naruto. Please."

A moment later, they were alone. And silent. Unable to even look at each other in this terrible moment of clarity and honesty.


	17. Chapter 17

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 17

_Warning… Intense angst ahead; it's the only way the story can realistically continue. But I have already started the sequel, and it will be filled with as much light and passion as this one is with darkness and grief._

Naruto stood there, head down, in the echoing silence of their bedchamber. His breathing slowly leveled out, and bitter tears breeched his tightly shut eyes. So much for dying like a man. He would live this damnable life, forever. Now that Sasuke knew he wanted to die, he knew he would never be able to find a way himself. His master, and that word was more sour, more vile upon his mind than ever before, would see to that. Obviously, Naruto had not yet suffered enough for whatever offense that it was that the Uchiha deemed him guilty of. He would live this dreary life, day in and day out, until he died of it.

Without looking up, he listened as Sasuke moved around, rustling of cloth and running of water. Then, a gentle hand took his bloodied one, and carefully, tenderly, used a warm wet towel to wipe the evidence of Naruto's rage, his crime, away.

Naruto finally looked up, but Sasuke's head was lowered, and what the blonde could see of his averted face, he was paler than normal. And the gentle hands that tended him were shaking.

And when there wasn't a speck of blood to be seen, the older man gently kissed his raw knuckles, and then slowly released him.

Still, no words were exchanged.

And then Sasuke gently slid Naruto's robe over the blonde's arms and shoulders, and snugly tied the sash.

Naruto was even more bewildered. Why was he tending to him like he was the slave, and not Naruto? What was Sasuke up to?

"Why?" He whispered softly.

"Because I love you, Naruto." Sasuke's words were as quiet and defeated as the blonde felt. And this time, the declaration only made Naruto feel even more damaged than ever. All this… because of love?

"You don't have to say anything," the raven went on in the same, almost dead voice. "Let me do the talking. Seems I've done enough of it over the years. But I've never said the right words."

Still a little stiff and aching despite Kia's ministrations, Sasuke shrugged into his own robe, tying the robe shut with a harsh yank.

"When I killed them… Itachi and Orochimaru, and you were there… I… I realized I'd been an idiot. You should have been there, beside me, all along. We should have done it, together. You were right. You were always right. We should have grown stronger, together."

Sasuke sighed wearily, raked a hand through his tangled hair, and sat with an ungraceful flop upon one of the ever present chairs in the room. Numbly, Naruto sat in another one, not too close to the man that had tormented him for so long, and now told him he loved him.

"I took you. I stole you, Naruto," Sasuke went on, his voice still eerily even and quiet, "I brought you here because I finally admitted to myself that I loved you. I had all along. From the day we met at the dock, through the years of rivalry and exchanges of insults, I loved you. That's why I couldn't kill you, back at the Valley of the End. I lied each and every time I told you it was on a whim. I lied. I saw you, with my hand through your chest, and I was horrified by what I had done, what the seal had caused me to do. I couldn't kill you, because I loved you so much."

Sasuke looked drearily out of one of the mullioned windows at the bright sunshine outside that belied the dark winter in his cold and empty heart. "I brought you here with me, that day of the battle, because I wanted you at my side. I wanted you at my side, in my arms, and in my bed. I wanted you to be my lover, my consort, and rule Sound with me. As you learned when you came here, I'd been suborning the men and women here. I charmed them into following me instead of Orochimaru. I knew I could lead them to a glorious future, when that snake was only using everyone for his own nefarious ends."

He laughed bitterly, still unable to look at the one he loved with every breath in his body. "What irony… ne? I dare to say Orochimaru had nefarious ends." He drew in a shaky breath. "Anyway, I brought you here, filled with hopes and dreams that my life could finally start again. I bought the idea of my dreams, by stealing you, and denying you yours. For how could you be Hokage if you were my lover? I knew I could never return to Konoha, yet still I wanted you, and my dreams. So I brought you here."

Finally, he looked at the quiet blonde, who listened intently with a passive face. "I didn't know… then… what you'd been doing while I'd been gone. Sakura told me, just today. How you fixed up my home, and were looking for lovely ladies to tempt me into a life of happiness, into renewing my clan as I'd always said I would do. That even though you loved me like I loved you, you were generous enough to put aside your dreams of love, to help me achieve all of mine."

Sasuke blinked away tears. What right did he have to cry? "When you pushed me away, that day, I didn't know, didn't understand. I thought you were rejecting me. Me, the great Uchiha. I could have any woman, and probably more than a few men, anyone I wanted, and you refused me. Rejected me. Make no mistake, Naruto. I am not excusing my actions. I was like a spoiled willful child denied a treat, and... and…"

Sasuke choked, coughed, and cleared his throat, his voice dropping lower and gaining the nasally quality of restrained tears. "I raped you. Beat you. Violated your body and mind and heart. Your very soul. And felt I was justified. Justifed." He looked away again, unable to bear looking into that beautiful and expressionless face any longer.

"I was the great Uchiha, bent upon a glorious destiny, and you denied me. And for that I broke you, destroyed you, demeaned you, and made you yearn for death…" And here Sasuke broke, tears coursing down his face.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," he wept brokenly. "I do not ask your forgiveness, for there is none to be found for what I've done. But… but… I just wanted you to know that… pitiful and ridiculous as a mere apology is… I'm sorry."

Naruto was silent. What could he say? That he forgave Sasuke? He couldn't. The last seven years had been a nightmare of titanic proportions, and that gentle and generous love of years ago had long ago burned away and its bitter ashes blown to the farthest reaches of the world by the cold winds of life. He didn't forgive him. He didn't think he would ever be able to forgive him. And he certainly didn't feel charitable enough to even lie and pretend he did.

In the face of Naruto's stony silence, Sasuke rose, red eyed and filled with the calm of despair, and moved to the armoire and began to slowly dress.

Naruto didn't watch him, but had lived with him so long he could tell what he was doing just by the sound. And when Sasuke moved slowly, like an old man, to the door, he finally looked up.

"So now what?" He asked, his own voice as quiet and dead as Sasuke's.

Sasuke paused with his hand on the door. "I'm going to do what I should have years ago. I'm going to set you free."

And without another word, Sasuke walked out the door, and closed it quietly behind.

"But what good will that do?" Naruto whispered to the empty room. "What good is life for me, when my memories are nothing but nightmares?"

And so he sat there, and pondered his fate to be sent away from Sound, where life was intolerable, to Konoha, where he would forever be a slave to the memories that would torment him until the end of his days, taunting him with what ifs, could be's, and whyfores. He was but a broken shell of a man now, and he would never be Hokage. Not now. He would never marry, never sire children, never know the pleasures of a justified old age with grandchildren at his knee. Konoha would simply become a very different sort of nightmare. And he would still long for the silence and blessing of oblivion.

And so Naruto sat there, silently, eyes burning with unshed tears, as the day wore on, and then began to die, as all things must; even days. The day was dying so gracefully, and would pass into the quiet of night, to be born again, a new day, with new hopes and dreams. And he, Naruto, would still go on. He would never have hopes and dreams, he would never have a bright and sunny future. And he would never give his heart to anyone ever again. His life would continue without love, without joy, without the possibility of a lover to find passion with, or children to cherish and teach. He would never love again. He would go on, no matter where, enslaved to his memories, to his heartbreak, and to his never ending loneliness.

And just as the last light of the setting sun glimmered and danced and set prismatic fires in the mullions of the window, Naruto rose, dressed numbly, and began to wander like a wraith doomed to haunt the opulent halls of Otogakure forever.


	18. Chapter 18

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 18

As soon as Sasuke left his bedchambers and his blonde, who was his no more, he went straight to the great hall, and sent slaves to find and summon the emissaries together, and then bring them to this place. As he waited, he stared around at the opulent space, filled with marble columns that exquisitely complemented the inlaid floors, the fine and lush tapestries, and delicate works of precious art. But he saw none of it. Instead, he saw it as perhaps Naruto always had; a beautiful prison, a gilded cage of diamond sharp edges that wounded instead of pleased.

Then he took out ink and parchment, and began to write furiously. When he was done, he called in his captain, his second, and his third to sign as his witnesses. The men in question were uneasy, as Sasuke did not permit them to read the document, merely witness his signature.

It took almost four hours to find, assemble, and bring everyone to the great hall, but not once did the Uchiha evince any irritation or anger. He simply waited, silently, and servants and slaves came and went about their duties with increasing nervousness.

But just as the sun was committing itself to setting, filling the hall with tones of dewy rose, vibrant gold, cooling creams, and hints of violet, the Konohans and Sunans were courteously escorted into the dining hall, where slaves hesitatingly lit the fancy lamps, or anxiously milled about, wondering if they should serve the rich and varied dishes that had been prepared for the evening meal. But their lord had waved them away each and every time one of them had tried to approach him with any questions.

One of his guards approached and bowed low. "Forgive this inexcusable delay, my Lord," the woman began, a hint of irritation in her voice. Less than twenty minutes ago the last two delegates, Gaara and his wife, had finally been tracked down in a bathhouse that had been checked not five minutes before, looking damp and refreshed, yet the dainty Hinata seemed strangely weary and oddly haunted.

Sasuke merely waved the guard away, his eyes settled unerringly upon those that had once been his fellow countrymen. They all stared back at him with various expressions of dislike and impatience. Sakura watched him with barely concealed scorn, and Konohamaru glared at him with outright hatred.

Finally, Neji stepped forward and gave him the briefest, and barely civilest of bows. "We have come, Uchiha-sama," he said curtly, the honorific like ashes on his tongue. "Though it was hardly necessary to send guards to fetch us to the evening meal."

The Uchiha disdained to sit, nor did he invite the others to do so. He gave a quick nod of his own in response before he spoke. "You may partake, if you so desire. Once I impart my news to you, I will send for food and drink."

The delegates eyed him with wary anticipation.

"I have decided to accede to all of Konoha's demands. I will sign any and all treaties and contracts that cause my nation no harm. I promised a golden age when Konoha and Suna represented themselves in you, their emissaries. And so it shall be. Before the sun rises tomorrow, the contracts shall be settled upon and signed. Then you will all be free to return to your homes with everything you came for."

Sasuke let his eyes linger on Sakura for a moment, a faint but wry smile on his face. "Yes. With _all_ you came for, so you shall return."

For a moment, Sakura couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Could it be… could he really mean it? She took an eager step forward. "And Naruto? What about him?"

Sasuke looked away for a moment, eyes haunted. "Isn't that what you really came for, Sakura?" For the first time ever, he felt the desire to tack the chan onto her name, but knew that not only would it not be received well, he did not have the right anymore. "I know that Konoha ostentatiously came to finalize a peace treaty and ratify contracts, but we all know the real reason you are here."

He looked back, his dark eyes traveling wistfully over his ex comrades. "You came to take the Light of Konoha home. And so you shall."

"Really?" Sakura breathed, face lighting up with such joy that she was radiantly beautiful, not just the loveliness she normally possessed.

"Where is he?" Konohamaru demanded belligerently at the same time. Kakashi laid an overly firm hand upon the youth's shoulder, and the boy eased back slightly, lowering his fierce eyes.

Sasuke held up his hand for a moment, as his eyes caught those of his servants and guards, silently telling them to leave. They did, albeit quite reluctantly on the latter's behalf. As soon as the room was empty of all save himself and the delegates, he lowered that commanding hand.

"Naruto will arrive in due time. But first, I have a few things to say."

"Naturally," Konohamaru seethed resentfully, then quieted when that firm hand became painful.

"I ask that you be… as good to him as you can. Make sure that Konoha takes care of him. He's not… as he was…" And Sasuke looked away, shame and remorse evident in every line of his body.

"Before you become self righteous, as I assure you, you have every right to be, let me tell you this…" Sasuke stopped any and all resentful remarks to his words with just a glance.

The Uchiha paused to take a deep steadying breath. "I was wrong. I was wrong to steal him, wrong to abuse him as I have, and wrong to have kept him from those that love him for as long as I have. I was wrong. And I will atone. I ask for no pardon, no forgiveness. I do not excuse my actions. I was wrong. Heinously so. In my arrogance and pride, I have committed inexcusable sins. All I ask of you now, is that you take Naruto home, and love him as he has deserved all along. Do not let the villagers follow my poor example. Do not let them punish him anymore for things he could not help, or did not do. Do not let them treat him like I have… please."

His eyes sought and held Sakura's again, ignoring everyone else. "Heal him… please."

"We will," Sakura replied strongly, no hesitation or doubt in her voice. "I assure you, we will." Though she was shocked to her core to hear these words from the mouth of he who had begun as her greatest love, and ended as her deadliest enemy; and mildly gratified that the Uchiha at least admitted to his transgressions a little, she was not at all assuaged of her anger and rage and resentment of all that Sasuke had said and done to one of the finest man she had ever, or would ever know.

"You will, of course," Neji interjected here in an arctic voice, "have removed that damnable collar before anything is signed."

"No, that will not be possible," Sasuke said, pain in his voice.

There was a rumbling growl throughout all assembled.

"No?" Sakura cried, all her fury rushing to the fore. "No? Why the hell not?"

This time it was Sakura whose shoulder got the excessively firm grip, but she, unlike Konohamaru, did not back down. Her leather gloves creaked she was fisting them so hard.

"Indeed," Neji asked, his voice even colder, if that were possible. "Might we know why not?"

"That collar is the only thing keeping Kyuubi, the Ninetailed demon at bay." Sasuke replied softly, eyes filled with self-loathing for what he was still condemning the one he loved to. "What do you think will happen when that collar is removed, and all that hatred and rage, bottled up inside Naruto for seven years, will do?"

Sasuke lowered his head, hating himself for the ramifications of his actions so long ago, still rippling through the pond of Naruto's life with such deadly rings, like a endless stream of stones dropped into the pure and loving water that was Naruto's life.

"What do you think the demon would do, to anyone who happened to be near by? What do you think his rage would do to the land he once sought to destroy? And what do you think his sudden release would do to Naruto himself? The rage and fury the beast must feel would most certainly weaken, if not outright destroy the seal that binds him inside Naruto. What do you think will happen, if you take the collar off?" Sasuke spread his hands in mute appeal. "Again, I cannot and do not ask for forgiveness. I can only tell you this. For this, and everything, I am more sorry than any of you can possibly know."

What little equanimity Sakura had gained from knowing they would take Naruto home was utterly and completely destroyed. She shrugged off Kakashi's vice like hand as if it were nothing.

"You're sorry?" She shouted, infuriated by the inadequacy of the Uchiha's words. "You're _sorry_? You abandon all of us, abandon Naruto, try to kill him time and again, then you steal him away, and spend years doing terrible things to him! You take the boy we all loved so much, and turn him into a broken shell of a man, and ask us to heal him! And on top of that, you brand him with a collar of slavery and degradation that he will have to wear to the end of his days, and you say you're sorry? You unmitigated Bastard!"

She was screaming towards the end, so enraged that spittle flew from her lips, and she felt the wild desire to tear, to rend, to smash into oblivion the raven haired monster before her. And for a moment, she almost did just that. Then she gave a scream of denial, and slammed her gloved fist into the inlaid floor of marble and wood to keep from killing the loathsome Otokage, and bringing war down upon the heads of all the nations.

So great was her fury that the floor ruptured, throwing everyone save herself around like dolls, shattering all the glorious windows in the hall, reducing the nearest great tables to mere splinters, and sending a spider web of cracks throughout the outward facing walls.

The glassless and now gaping windows let in the cool and tranquil dusk, and even as everyone coughed and choked on the ensuing dust, warriors poured in through the shattered doors, to defend their lord and master. But again, Sasuke picked himself up and waved them away, with stern admonitions that the delegates were not to be touched, that no harm had been done, leave us be. He didn't even bother to dust himself off.

Once again, they were alone, though the servants and slaves and soldiers milled about in confusion and distress. And through their ranks threaded a small and lonely figure, speckles of dust in his sunshine bright hair.


	19. Chapter 19

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 19

Naruto, drawn by the noise in the hall and the unease of the household of the Otokage, had come to see the termination of his time in Sound. He had come to watch the end of all he had known and hated, and watch the beginning of all he dreaded and feared. He was still trapped, still enslaved, and would be so all of his days. Yet, he could not turn away. He could not take his eyes off Sasuke.

Who was this man, with his master's face and body, who stood there, tall and strong, yet yielding in his admittance of guilt, in his acceptance of blame. Who was this individual that had brought him so much pain through sheer arrogance, and yet now stood ready to endure punishments for his crime. Who was this person that he had thought he'd known through and through, but turned out he didn't know at all?

Who was Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha's, the Otokage of Sound, and the man that Naruto had once loved so much. And still, to this day, despite everything, despite his words and thoughts and deeds to the contrary, still loved with every fiber of his being?

The dust finally settled, and once Kakashi had control of the seething Sakura again, Sasuke finally spoke.

"What more can I say or do? I have already put in writing that all my personal wealth and property as an Uchiha of Konoha and a noble of Sound will go to Naruto the moment he steps foot from this city, whether I am alive or dead. I would give up my life, my very soul, to be able to turn back the hands of time and take back all that I have done." Sasuke drew in a shuddering breath before continuing.

"I hate myself for what I have done. Hate me; I deserve no less. Vilify me; I have it coming. Despise me and reject me, for I am worthless. Give me enough time to find a suitable replacement for Otokage, and I will appear before any tribunal you wish to set for me. I will accept any punishment you choose to dispense. I will do the honorable thing, and suicide once my nation, innocent of my crimes, is taken care of. There is nothing more than all this that I can give. And I give it, freely, willingly, knowing that it is due for what I have done."

A deafening silence filled the room. Sasuke reached into his belt and drew out a scroll. The others tensed, but he opened it, and handed it to Neji. "There, everything I have said, I have put in writing. All I own as and Uchiha of Konoha and Sound, I leave to Naruto. I have put in writing my decision to open negotiations among the ranks here to appoint my heir. And I have put in writing here, that I will return to Konoha, and stand trial for all my crimes."

Neji quickly scanned the legal document, then nodded curtly. "It is as he says," he responded formally. "Uchiha Sasuke, I do hereby accept your contract of right of succession before you return to Konoha for trial." Then he handed the document to Kakashi, who also scanned it before tucking it safely away.

Naruto, peeking around one of the fractured columns, shuddered at this. He loved Sasuke; despite everything, he loved him, and he did not want him to die. For such would be the Uchiha's fate if he ever set foot in Konoha again. The council would condemn him, collect his semen to revive the clan, and then execute him. Sasuke would die, and there would be no salvation.

And he couldn't bear that. He blinked away tears, staring at the ground at Sasuke's feet, unable to look into the face of the man that had so wronged him, repented, and willed himself to die for it. The man he couldn't bear, despite everything, to die.

"No," he whispered, but no one heard.

In the silence that followed this shocking revelation, the sudden grinding of stone was clearly heard. The striated glossy column of heavy marble, twice the girth of a hefty man, was shifting, rotating slowly, as the fractures at its base could no longer support its weight. It was turning, leaning drunkenly, and it was clear to see where it would fall.

Sasuke stared at it a moment, and then turned to the others, who, likewise seeing and knowing what was happening, moved aside.

"Sakura," he said softly, and she looked at him startled. "Do I step aside, and stand trial? Or do I stay where I stand, and meet now the fate that waits for me?"

Sakura stared at him dumbfounded. In but a moment, he would surely be crushed, and die an agonizing but quick death. In Konoha, the death would be quick, and painless, but the humiliation of the trial, the denunciation for all his sins, would be Sasuke's lot, if he avoided the sudden choice that lay before her. And this damn man deserved no less. He merited so much more suffering than he would ever receive.

The memory of Naruto's eyes, blank, cool and distant, utterly devoid of all the life and vitality they had once held, decided her. Though Sasuke deserved no less than the degradation of a trial, Naruto would suffer for it. And though she was condemning the Uchiha to an excruciating death, and possibly a lingering one, Naruto had suffered at his hands, and deeds, enough. And though she wouldn't wish such an end on anyone, justice would be served through the hands of fate.

Neji would understand.

"Stay," she whispered.

Sasuke nodded once, curtly, and turned to face the column, which had finished it's last shift, and was now falling, its shadow darkening the slender form which stood in its path.

"No!" Naruto screamed, and abandoned his hiding place, racing towards Sasuke with every ounce of speed he could possibly summon. He shot forward, and shoved the only one he would ever love out of the way at the very last second.

The deafening crash of the towering edifice of marble, and the thunderous roar of part of the outside wall crumbling like an avalanche of mortar and stone, completely obliterated the sound of splintering bone and rupturing flesh. It hit so hard it bounced twice more, mercifully away from its crushed victim, and then rolled away with the grinding and splintering of the floor.

And what should have been a moment of deafening and shocked silence was rent by a spine tingling, bone chilling scream of raw grief.

Sasuke sprang up from where he'd fallen, vaulted over the broken remains of what had been a smooth and gleaming shaft of opulent marble, and then fell to his knees beside the only one he'd ever love, and who he'd finally lead to his utter doom.

"Naruto!"

It was a scream that had put the thunder of the disaster to shame, and obliterated any and every hope and dream within range of its powerful wail.

"Naruto… no…" and the next sounds that came from his throat were as soft as the first was loud, but no less heartbreaking. Shuddering, hands shaking violently, he tentatively reached for locks of gold stained crimson with blood.

Naruto lay there, his small and delicate form utterly ruined by the tons of stone that had shattered bone and body. He was quivering steadily, as if a current was running through his body, then he coughed, a fountain of blood to rain back down on his chalk white face, the only part of him untouched by the unmitigated catastrophe that had struck him down.

"S…Sasuke…" his words were slurred and wet. Mercifully, once he coughed, he went numb, and knew his end was at hand. At last. There was just one last thing to say before he slipped free of this painful mortal coil and slid into the blessed oblivion of death. "Sasuke… I… I love… you…"

And Sasuke's mind shattered like the body before him.


	20. Chapter 20

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Chapter 20

For the rest of them, it was only a second that everyone was frozen in horror. Only a second, but it lasted for each and every one of them for what seemed an eternity. Even as the blood was still falling, Sakura broke free of her paralysis with a scream of denial of her own and scrambled to the fallen blonde's side.

As she fell to her knees beside him and gingerly took one of his broken hands in hers, tears exploding from her frightened eyes, the others too found the will to move.

"Naruto, hold on," Sakura sobbed, hands scrabbling to find the worst damage. But there was so much! So much blood. So much torn flesh. So many shattered bones. "Hold on!"

Deep down, she knew the damage was too extensive, too complete. Without the Ninetails healing capabilities, Naruto would be dead in minutes. There was a chance though. If she gave him everything she had; poured her very life and soul into him, perhaps it could be reversed. With her sacrifice, he might be saved. Even as those thoughts filled her mind, her hands began to glow.

"Sa..kura…" The sound of the blonde's voice was horribly distorted by blood rapidly filling his lungs. "No…"

"Shut up, baka," she wailed, hands moving across his ruined chest.

"No…" Naruto whispered, somehow finding the wherewithal to reach up and take one of her hands into his broken one. "Sakura… Look… at me… please…"

Shuddering with grief, she looked into his eyes. And saw.

Naruto was so very tired now. Tired of serving, tired of suffering, tired of living. It would be a blessing to die. Die and be utterly gone; nothing left of him. He didn't want any afterlife, any reincarnation, any resurrection. He just wanted to stop, completely and for all time.

"No…" She moaned.

"Yes," he whispered softly, unable to breathe except in short sharp pants now. "Let… me… go… please..."

"Naruto…" Unable to speak clearly through her tears, she bowed over him. "I… we... love you…"

As if through a haze of white noise, she heard the others behind her; crying, sobbing, shouts of denials, demands someone do something. Save him! Let him go…

They were surrounded. Layers of people softly gathering close, reaching out to gently touch Naruto, to let him know he was not alone, that he did not go into the darkness unnoticed, unloved, or unmourned.

But Sakura was oblivious to all this, even if Naruto was not. He was dying! Leaving her alone. She had a hand in bringing the blonde to this pass; rationally, she should know that it was but a horrible twist of fate, a perversion of what should have been. But… She was not rational, she couldn't be rational. It was her hand that broke the pillar supports, it was her decision to tell Sasuke to stay. She had led Naruto under the falling column of stone. And now, Naruto was dying, leaving her. Her light, her anchor was leaving, going away, and at his request, she could not deny him. "….love you…."

"I… know…" His eyes were dimming, she couldn't bear to watch, but she couldn't bear to look away. "Love… you… too…"

The noise around her faded even more, until all she could hear were his quick, tortured breaths, his slowing heartbeat. Part of her agonized that it was happening too quickly, but yet not quickly enough. It was too soon, she wasn't ready. But she would never be ready, and he had suffered enough, and this final indignity was hurting him more than any pain before. Let him go. Let him go.

"Goodbye…" She whispered, staring into his eyes.

He smiled. For the first time in years, it was a brilliant and genuine smile, heartbreakingly beautiful, despite all the blood and dust.

And then, like a candle snuffed out by a sharp breeze, Naruto Uzumaki was no more.

She couldn't tear her eyes away. They had thought his eyes empty before, but now… like this… gray… void… utterly empty. He was gone. Gone. Gone. She thought she would die from the pain of it.

Pale fingers intruded, and gently closed his unseeing eyes.

Sakura looked up wildly, snarling at the audacity. And was lost in the pale and stricken eyes of someone who had loved him more and longer. Hinata.

A scream tore free from behind clenched teeth, knotted jaw. "Naruto!" She fell face first into Hinata's torn and bloodied shirt, weeping wildly.

Another endless moment passed and Sakura finally mastered herself when she felt Naruto's lifeless body shifting slightly beneath her.

Sasuke sat at his head, dark eyes as empty as Naruto's as shaking fingers combed through the blood soaked and tangled golden strands. Soft strangled whimpers were leaking from his slightly parted lips.

At first the raw and wild pain emanating from the Uchiha softened her heart. But she stiffened. He had brought them all to this pass, not her. He was the reason Naruto lay dead right now, with the badge of slavery still around his neck. How dare he grieve? What right did he have to mourn?

"Take it off," she snarled, tempted to bat his hands away, but daren't, lest Naruto's hair be pulled. "Take the damned collar off!"

But Sasuke was lost to the world. His most precious person, his lover, his mate, his everything was gone, and he could not survive it. He would sit there, and pet Naruto's head until the end of time. Nothing else mattered now.

"Take it off!" Sakura screamed, almost demented. "Take it off take it off take it off!"

"Sakura," Hinata whispered, her voice hitching as she feared the insanity in her friend's eyes.

Sakura ignored her. That damned collar had to come off and come off now! In her wild grief and rage, she dug her fingers around the collar. It must come off. It must come off!

Someone tried to pull her away. With a wild scream, she let go long enough to punch whoever it was away, unremarking who it had been, or how far the person flew. Then she was again at her task. It must come off!

Her bloodied hands slipped a moment, and she growled and took another grip. She groaned with the effort, head thrown back, teeth bared, the tendons in her neck and arms standing out in sharp relief. It must come off!

There was a creaking noise. Then a crack, sharp and clear in the frightened hush that followed the breaking of Sakura's sanity. It must come off!

That which was impossible was made possible through the love and strength of a single human heart. With the sound like the retort of a gun, the collar snapped in two in her hands. She fell back from the sudden loss of resistance.

"Holy shit…" Was all someone got out.

A sudden wind screamed out, rising hot and livid like fire. Red chakra boiled up from Naruto's body like lava from a volcano. Burning with an inferno of rage, the Ninetails was freed at last.

Everyone was sent sliding back from the blast of fiery energy released from its seven year solitary confinement. The shape of a slavering giant demon fox rose from the steaming remains of someone so beloved. It snapped and snarled as it tore itself free from what had been its prison for twenty two years.

"Fuck…" Shikamaru's note of disgust was heard even over the shrieking of wind and rage. He had one hand clamped around Sakura's waist, to keep her from sliding even further away. "We're all gonna die. How troublesome."

"Yeah," Sakura said softly, not really caring at the moment.

But the fox didn't attack. It writhed above Naruto's body in an agony of motion, screaming and growling and snarling. It scoured the rapidly disintegrating ceiling with foot long talons. Only by the capricious will of fate was no one else crushed by falling stone. Those not closest to Naruto scattered with screams of panic. The nine red tails lashed the ground, rising dust and debris. More people ran from them in fear. Then it lowered its ghastly head and fixed its enormous slit red and black eyes on the Uchiha, who had somehow managed to stay put, fingers still buried in Naruto's sticky hair.

"YOU!" An accusation in a hell bound voice, louder than thunder, and twice as frightening.

Sasuke let go, and stood up slowly, never taking his eyes from the monstrosity before him. His eyes were filled with clarity and wild relief. He laughed with reckless joy, and spread his arms in supplication. "Yes. Here I am. Take your vengeance. I am more than ready."

Quick and bright as a lightening strike, the fox pounced, saliva dripping fangs snapping shut, and tearing out Sasuke's throat in the blink of an eye. Blood spattered wildly in the demon's fury. Talons gripped and tore and shredded. The raven's body flew apart. It growled and gibbered and snarled as it continued to rend and claw and bite.

"Stop."

Kyuubi shuddered, tails flickering, and then shuddered again.

"Let him go."

In the sudden ensuing stunned and terrified silence, for the retaliation had been so swift, so complete, so graphically and horrifically bloody, no one could move or speak.

"No," Kyuubi thundered, reluctantly releasing what little was left of the Uchiha's mangled body. "He must suffer."

"It is finished." The voice, soft and gentle, was so familiar. But it couldn't be. What was left of Naruto had split asunder in the Ninetails' escape, and was in as bad condition as the late Otokage's. "There has been enough suffering. Let him go."

Kyuubi shuddered again, ears flattening, tails shifting then tucking down like a chastised dog. He shuddered again, and scuttled backwards, claws shuffling in the blood soaked rubble. He shook his great head, and shuddered a last and final time, eyes squeezed shut.

"Let's go home, my friend," Naruto's voice whispered. The Ninetails' eyes opened, and they were no longer slit, no longer red and black, but as blue and bright and beautiful as a cloudless summer sky. That bristling, brazen red fur rippled as if in a breeze, shifting to a golden hue, like liquid sunshine, wild and free.

The ground groaned, shuddered, rocked suddenly, as the fox's form began to lose coherency, shifting and eddying like a whirlpool of red and gold, black and blue, spinning, spiraling, breaking apart the star spattered sky above and illuminating the sky that had always paled in comparison to Naruto's eyes. The wind once more whistled in everyone's ears, raked their hair, stung their eyes. It gathered itself up in a streak of fire and shot away to the south.

And all was still.

The Ninetails was gone, and so were Naruto and Sasuke.


	21. Chapter 21

The Slave of Sound

The Slave of Sound

Epilogue

The march to Sound had been brisk, efficient, almost furious. The return to Konoha was much more subdued. They were returning home in defeat. They straggled back aimlessly, slowly, uncaring of bandits or missing nins or any harm that might befall them. Numb and broken, they drifted home. The Sunans went with them. They would return to their own home after accompanying their bewildered comrades in arms to safety, even though they were in no better shape.

It had been a week since Naruto and Sasuke died. The Konohans and Sunans had done what they could in the turmoil of the Sound Nation after the loss of their brilliant if twisted leader. In the ensuing scrabble for supremacy, one voice spoke clear and heartfelt in the gloom; warm and strong and sure.

DeKrisso, though old and bent, was still hale and possessed a wisdom beyond the lot of humankind. The other Sound combatants listened to his quiet voice, listened and harkened. What had happened that terrible summer day a week ago, left everyone changed forever, and in the ensuing calamity that followed, people were unaccustomedly pliant. DeKrisso would rule Sound wisely until a strong and true candidate could be found, tested, and assume the mantle of leadership. DeKrisso had signed the contracts and treaties, and had ratified the scroll Sasuke had given Neji.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, their own pain upon their return to Konoha.

Kakashi, a loner by choice and lifestyle, had been devastated once more. He'd never passed any genin before Team 7, and knew he would never even test a team again, much less pass one. He'd lost all of his students. Naruto had spent the last years of his short and miserable life in debasing and tormented bondage. Sasuke had been lost in the darkness and had committed unspeakable atrocities. And Sakura… She was like a ghost of her former self; silent, eyes wide and lost and bewildered. It was as if she'd lost something intrinsic to herself when she watched the life fade from Naruto's eyes. Left to her own devices, she would wander like a child, looking for someone she would never find again. He dreaded breaking the news to Iruka. The chuunin would be as even more devastated than he was. He had practically raised Naruto and had loved him like a son.

Neji and Shikamaru were silent. This was nothing new, as both men were habitually quiet. Consistently unmoved by life's little foibles; at least outwardly. Or they had been. Now they were prone to stop what they were doing, look around blankly, and sometimes leak unexpected tears quietly before drifting on. They would gather themselves in the days it took to reach home, but they would never be the same again. Fate was a troublesome thing, on that the two quietly agreed.

Konohamaru was bitter and disillusioned. How could Naruto have died? How could he be gone? He'd been going to save him! He was going to bring his precious person home, and make him whole once more. But he'd been less than useless. Naruto was gone, and the boy would grieve and mourn for him for the rest of his life. He stayed away from everyone, reserving his wild tears for the privacy of night and solitude. Those around him worried for him. He wanted nothing to do with anyone. But after Sakura had wandered away one too many times, he huffed with annoyance, tracked her down, and then spent his time holding her hand, talking quietly to her about Naruto. In their odd companionship, he found a measure of peace, and she seemed to revive a little.

Gaara and Kankuro seemed the most unchanged, but it was deceptive. Though Kankuro had not been as close to Naruto as his brother, he'd been immensely impacted by Naruto in his life. To have the bright and untrammeled spirit so broken, then killed so ignomiously was something he could not overcome quickly or with ease. Gaara displayed the same placid veneer as ever, but the eyes once so murderous, then so lurkingly warm after Naruto's advent, had lost some of their brightness, had dimmed with a loss that could never be replaced. He drew closer to his wife, and seemed a little more demonstrative than before. Life was fleeting, and it seemed the good die young, and the best and most loved were lost too soon. He would treasure what he had, and hold it close to his heart. How he loved his wife, and was not afraid to show it now, in his subdued way.

Hinata was changed the most. Instead of shrinking into herself, considering the degradation of he who had meant so much to her, in the depths of depravity and vengeance she herself had descended into. But the latter had somehow strengthened her. Though she would frequently shudder when she would remember what had happened deep under the soil in Sound's royal gardens, it had lit a fire in her being. By descending into the darkness and the blood and the pain as had the two men she loved above all others, she had refined the steel within herself in the fires of hell. Never again would she be too weak or too timid to do whatever it took to protect her most precious people. But she had given her heart once and it had been lost. Never again would she love so innocently. What she had with her husband was just as fierce as what she'd felt for Naruto, just as passionate, but her innocence was gone forever. And she would grieve for that as long as she did for Naruto. But if there was something she'd learned from the blonde, both in Konoha and in Sound, was that precious people were just that, precious, and must be protected at all costs.

They had all been changed forever, had lost something more precious than the breath of life, and would miss and grieve for it as long as they lived. Life would never be the same again. It would never be as innocent, as flavorful, or zestful as it had been before.

Or so they all thought.

Less than a day from Konoha, they were still as lackluster as when they had started this nightmarish trek. The days had blurred into a gray streak of gloom. But despite this, they dreaded returning home. The tale would have to be told, and more hearts would break, more lives would be changed for the worse forever. They dreaded this with every fiber of their being. Nothing seemed to matter any more. The only thing that meant anything to them was continuing the nightmare from which none of them would ever awaken, and pass that nightmare onto more innocent souls. They shuddered at the thought.

Giggling was heard through the trees. They paused, the sheer joy and innocence of that sound smote them, and then they cringed. It was the laughter of a child. One of their own, obviously, since they were so close to home, but soon that laughter could change to tears, once the news they brought with them was revealed. Though a part of them longed to seek out that innocence, they wanted to put off destroying it as long as possible. The moved on slowly.

The giggling came closer. Stalking them, teasing them with what they would never know again. There was something so joyous, so infectious in the children that moved ever closer to them with every passing moment. They smiled weakly, and slowed their steps.

The giggling exploded into delicious laughter, from the throats of more than once child. They stopped, somehow unable to move forward, to leave that scrumptious innocent glee behind. The leaves rustled around them. There was the sound of flying footsteps, shrieks of laughter, smothered giggles and the panting of children lost in play. They were frozen in their tracks, slight bemused smiles on their faces, heads tilted to the side as they absorbed the sounds.

A gold blur shot across the path before them, bright and beautiful and pink and young. The child paused in his flight, the crashing of another child close behind him, and looked upon the weary hopeless travelers.

Shock crashed through them with the force of a tsunami.

It was a boy, no more than ten. He was long and lean and glowed with health and vitality. His feet were bare, caked in dirt, and his still slightly knobby knees bore grass stains. His black shorts were stained and torn, his orange tank top littered with leaves and tiny twigs. His shock of wild blonde hair made their hearts throb, as did enormous blue eyes, which shamed the sky above. Eyes that were wild and free, innocent and carefree.

But what made their knees weak, their minds frayed, were the six whisker marks that adorned those glowing pink cheeks. An unmistakable stamp.

Sakura gave a strangled noise in the back of her throat, and took a helpless step forward. In her diminished capacity, she instantly recognized and accepted what the others could not.

It was impossible, but with he whom they all mourned so greatly, they had long ago learned nothing was impossible. It was preposterous but who was more preposterous at times than him? It was miraculous, just like a newborn demon carrier that would live to make the whole world love him.

_Naruto!_

-Ja ne-

AN… At long last, The Slave of Sound is finished. I am both shaken, and relieved. It was a long and mostly wrenching journey, and I am glad and sad that it is over. I can only hope I feel the same with the next and continuing journey of this tale.

I have no idea where all this came from. As I told some of you, from the moment I began the first chapter, it took on a life and a will of its own. I was helpless before it, and was only along for the ride. I had no idea I was capable of such darkness, nor why I was compelled to write a story of such grief and sadness. But even during my long dry spell of writer's block, I returned to what I had written again and again. It haunted me, and I knew I had to follow where it would lead. And I did.

My thanks and gratitude to all of you on this ride with me, for putting up with my foibles, my spells of inactivity, and over all, the strange darkness of this story. Everyone who has reviewed as been more than kind, all things considering. And you have been absolutely supportive with your reviews. I have tried not to let them go to my head. And all of you, each and every one of you, inspired me to continue and finish this tale. And I am grateful.

As promised, there will be a sequel. I have already finished the prologue, and most of the first chapter. And it will be, as aforementioned, as light and passionate as this one was dark and grief stricken. I look forward to continuing to please you in all my works, but most especially with Innocence From Ashes. Watch for it.

All my love and gratitude…

Ren.


End file.
